Human Echo
by Crystal Manning
Summary: -Element Fic- What do you do when the world's against you? Everything seemed so simple when we were young. When did the tides turn against us? Who are you going to turn to when you find out the person you've trusted most is fighting against you? -Discontinued-
1. Chapter 1

**Human Echo**

**Summary-Imagine you were walking down the street one day and someone ran out of the store, pockets filled with stolen jewels. Now, imagine if you caught a glimpse of the robber. Imagine if it were you. What would you do when the ones you love are suddenly turned against you?**

**A/N: This is a cowrite with mikromb13.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Sixteen-year-old Cody Martin tapped his pen against his desk as his eyelids started to droop. He forced them open and let out a yawn as he held his face up on his hand. Ordinarily he would be wide awake, absorbing as much information as he possibly could but he stayed up too late studying.

Not for school, he was studying for his Element Test. You see, he and his twin brother found out about two years ago that they were born with Elements, a special power that was granted to select people when they were born. They only learned about their Elements when they encountered their friends, who are Elementals as well. They are a close knit group of teenagers living a double life: students/model children by day, Element fighters by night. It got tough to keep their tow lives separate but they did the best they could. But sometimes their lives merged and affected both, like now.

"Codes, are you ok? You barley answered any question in class today," his older twin brother, Zack, commented as he caught up to him in the hall.

"I'm fine Zack, I'm just really tired. I stayed up late studying for our test," Cody responded. "I still can't believe Ryan and Alan are flying out just to get their test done."

"I can, now I can finally beat his ass!" Zack said as he slapped his fist into his open palm, an evil grin was splayed across his lips. Cody groaned as he rested his forehead on his locker door. The last thing he wanted to hear was Zack's endless rant about beating his self-proclaimed rival. The only reason they fought a lot was because they both liked Rikku.

"Hey guys, are you ready for the test?" Rikku Hiroshima asked as she, her twin Rumiku, and their cousin Crystal walked up to the blond twins. Cody immediately straightened up and ran a hand through his hair as he smiled shyly at Crystal who returned his smile.

"I still don't understand why you don't have to take it," Zack said as he nodded at them.

"It's the perks of living with an Element scientist," Crystal responded with a shrug. "The downside is we get tested almost every week." She was referring to her father, Christian, whom she reunited with only three months ago. They became close really fast, but it was probably because Christian acted more like a kid than a father. He's been away since she was born, working on Element discoveries as well as looking for some cures to people who couldn't handle the responsibilities of being an Elemental.

"Did he find out anything new? Like why you guys have darkness in you but we don't?" Cody asked with genuine interest.

"Classified information," Crystal responded with a shrug. "You know how it goes."

Cody looked over at the troubled look on Rikku's and Rumiku's face and immediately regretted asking that question as he mentally kicked himself. _'I should've known that would be a touchy subject. Sometimes I'm so stupid.'_

"We have to pick up the boys but you can go on over to Christian's place," Rikku told them once the bell rang. Without another word the trio turned and walked down the hall. Zack and Cody watched them leave with confused looks on their faces.

"What's the matter with them lately? They've acting...emo lately," Zack said as he nudged Cody to get him to start down the hall.

"Zack, that's not nice," Cody scolded him.

"You find a better word to describe it," Zack challenged him.

"I can't find a better word," Cody admitted. "But using the term emo is bad, it's like using the term gay. You're making it seem like all emos are bad, but they're not. They're not out to destroy the world or to kill themselves. They're sensitive, thoughtful, and have a unique view on life."

Zack gave Cody a 'who are you and what have you done to my brother?' look as he pushed open the doors to the school and stepped out into the warm, sunny day. The twins bounded down the stairs and started their walk to the Manning house. Zack was busy talking, more like bragging, about how he beat everyone in their gym class in a game of dodge ball.

Cody was ignoring him as he thought back on how his life has changed just by meeting the Hiroshimas and their cousin. They opened up his eyes to a new world that he was now a part of and had control over. He had new responsibilities now and sometimes he just wanted to throw it all away and go back to the way his life used to be. But he knew that he couldn't. He and Zack were the strongest Elementals of their generation, which gave them both more responsibility than anyone else. If he threw his life away, he would be hit by many consequences.

They stopped by Liberty Park because Zack insisted on showing Cody a trick he had mastered. Cody watched Zack fail time after time. He let out an impatient sigh a few times as he looked at his watch impatiently. By the time Zack gave up the two were twenty minutes late to getting to the Manning house for their tests.

"Oh, it's just you two," Christian Manning, Crystal's father, commented once he opened the door to his home. "Come inside, your test will begin shortly. I just have to finish running tests on Mike." He moved out of the way so Zack and Cody had room to get into the house. They dropped their things by the front door before following him into the basement. The first thing they spotted was Mike running on a treadmill with wires disappearing underneath his shirt. Sydney, the youngest Hiroshima, was sitting in a chair to the left of the larger one that was in front of a large computer and Crystal was sitting in a chair to the right. Julius, the oldest Hiroshima, Rikku, Rumiku, and their twin little brothers, Patrick and Noah, were sitting on a couch, watching silently. Ryan Cooper and Alan brown watched the blond twins move into the room without saying a word.

Ordinarily they would've gotten their tests done at the Element lab that was set up in the Science lab in the middle of Boston but it was safer to do it at Christian's house, especially when it got late because no one would come by that much.

"Sorry we're late," Cody whispered to Crystal as he sat down on the bench that was behind the chairs. Crystal held up her hand to silence him without taking her eyes off of the computer screen.

"You can stop now," Christian said as he pressed the large red STOP button that was on the treadmill. Mike stopped running and got off of the slowly stopping belt. Crystal stood with a clipboard in her hand, a checklist was held in place on it.

"Take off your shirt," she told him. He nodded and did so before tossing it into a corner. "Flex." He lifted an arm and did so as Crystal stepped forward and wrapped a tape measure around his bicep. Cody grumbled under his breath as Zack laughed a little to himself. He clenched his hands into fists when she wrapped it around his waist before writing something down on the checklist. "Ok, you're finished," she said before handing the clipboard over to Christian who sat in his chair as Sydney went to pull the wires off of Mike.

"So, what do the results say, Professor Manning?" Mike asked as he took his shirt out of Sydney's hand and pulled it on over his head.

"Christian's fine," he told him. "And I have to wait until all of the results are complied before I can tell you anything."

"Understood," Mike said before sitting down.

"Zack, Cody, we're going to have to test you at the same time," Sydney said as he held wires in both of his hands. "Take off your shirts so I can put these on you."

"Are you sure you want him to do that, his fat might spill everywhere," Ryan muttered to Alan but it was loud enough so everyone could hear him. Zack's face burned as he looked at the floor. He knew he was a little bit thicker than Cody but he tried not to let it get to him. It was hard for him, especially when he tried going on a diet but he didn't get good results.

"That was uncalled for!" Christian said as he glared at Ryan. Ryan kept his mouth shut but his eyes widened slightly as a guilty look crossed his face. He glanced over at Rikku who slowly shook her head before getting off the couch and left the room. Awkward silence fell over the group.

"Can we turn on the TV or something?" Noah asked quietly after a couple of seconds of silence.

"The news," Christian told him.

Zack and Cody stood still as Sydney connected the wires to them as they kept their eyes on the TV. Cody's eyes narrowed when it changed to a story about how the Boston Bank had been robbed. _'That's funny, that's the third time this week. You'd think that the police would be able to catch the culprits by now,'_ Cody told himself as the scene switched to a video tape of the burglar rushing out of the bank. Cody's eyes narrowed when he saw a flash of the robber's face in a mirror. _'My eyes must be playing tricks on me...that looked a little bit like Rikk.'_

-------

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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Cody groaned as he dropped down onto the couch and let out a sigh, before letting out a cry of pain when Zack landed on top of him. He was too tired to move so he just let Zack sit on him as he picked up the remote and started changing the channels to find something to watch, probably a Monster Truck show.

They had just returned to the Tipton and Cody had never felt so tired in his life. Even fighting against the BlackWolves never made him this tired, but the Element Test wore him out. He could barely keep his eyes open but he wanted to stay up and look at the news.

The story of the bank robbery really caught his attention. That small glimpse he had of the robber looked a _little_ like Rikku, but he knew that it wasn't possible seeing as she was upstairs the entire time, watching TV, but Cody couldn't shake the picture out of his head. He knew that the Hiroshimas had a bad past and made bad decisions, but he didn't think robbery was one of them.

Before he knew it he had the phone in his hand and he was dialing the Manning's number. He waited patiently as the phone continued to ring before someone picked it up. Before he could say anything someone shouted, "WILL YOU SHUT UP, I'M ON THE PHONE!" Cody winced as he jerked the phone away from his ear.

"Are you having a party or something?" Cody asked.

"No, but Rafael arrived from Japan," Rumiku responded over the loud noise in the background. "He says that he has a lot of information to tell us. We'll tell you later, Christian won't let us leave and he says it's too late for anyone to come back over so we'll tell you in school."

"Wait," Cody called out but she had all ready hung up. Cody stared at the phone before putting it back in its cradle. He looked up to see Zack looking down at him.

"What's going on?" He asked as he muted the TV.

"Rafael arrived from Japan, he says that he has a lot of information to tell us but we can't find out until tomorrow because Christian doesn't want anyone over at this time of night," Cody explained.

"What do you think it's about?"

"What it's always about, Wingz Corp is up to something," Cody responded.

"Maybe not this time, maybe he wants to tell us that he found other Elementals in Japan or something," Zack suggested.

"Maybe," Cody muttered. _'But it has to be something worse if Rafael came all the way over here.'_

The two stayed up a little bit late watching TV before their mother, Carey, came into the suite after her gig and made them go to sleep. Cody hated keeping their secret from her but he also knew that she wouldn't understand. He knew, deep down, that she would still love them no matter what, but he didn't want to take the chance that she would disown them or something.

"What's bothering you now?" Zack asked as the two got changed and climbed into their beds.

"Wingz Corp has been too quiet lately," Cody admitted as he leaned against his pillow which was propped up to rest on his back. "I just...want to know what they're doing."

"The rest of us feel the same way but be glad that we haven't been attacked lately, it gives us time to be normal," Zack told him.

"But we _aren't _normal! And we never will be, ever again. I want...so badly for Core to be stopped, I'm even willing to go straight to his HQ and...and..."

"Slow your roll, Sara Lee," Zack said as he held up his hand. "You aren't thinking clearly. Sure, it may be easy for you to get in, but as the Hiroshimas say, it's a lot harder getting back out. If Koto can do a lot of damage by himself, imagine what Core can do."

"But that's just it, I don't think he can do anything," Cody admitted. "He always hides behind the DarkLions and BlackWolves. I don't even think he has an Element. If it were ever one of us with him, one-on-one, I believe that we could stop him once and for all."

------

Core tapped his fingers on his desk as a muscle in his jaw twitched. Kagenui and Ruliyan, who at eighteen were the leaders of their respective divisions the BlackWolves and the DarkLions, were standing in front of his desk, hands clasped behind their backs as they waited for their master to say something.

"I disbanded Spirit-X and DragonGang from trying to get those Elementals because I knew they wouldn't be able to stand up to the job because they're weaker than you," Core started in a surprisingly calm tone. Kagenui and Ruliyan exchanged confused glances before looking back at their master, biting their lips, knowing that they would soon be yelled at. "This is why I left that responsibility to the BlackWolves division and the DarkLions division. Time and time again you have failed and tarnished the name of Wingz Corp."

"Sir, with all due respect, getting to them is harder than we expected," Kagenui spoke after he cleared his throat. "They have two of the strongest Elementals on their side-"

"And they have that Mike kid with them and-" Ruliyan interrupted.

"Are you making excuses?" Core hissed as his eyes narrowed.

"No, Master Core," they muttered in unison as they hung their heads.

"That's what I thought. If they're so tough, maybe I haven't been training you hard enough." Master Core let the sentence hang in the air as Kagenui and Ruliyan stayed silent. "Go wake the rest of them and tell them you have training to do."

"Which session?" Ruliyan asked.

"Session AA," Core responded with a grin. "Maybe this will teach you not to make excuses. Leave!" He pointed towards the door and the two left the room. "They will be busy for a while," he told himself as he booted up his laptop.

Ruliyan and Kagenui went down separate hallways and went to their respective bunk areas. They kicked, shoved, and punched their co-workers awake and they grumbled and groaned, rubbing their sore body parts.

"Whazzumatter?" Reihu asked sleepily as he rubbed his eyes once they all had gathered in the hallway. Ruliyan and Kagenui were leaning against the wall, arms crossed over their chests, glares set in their otherwise expressionless eyes.

"We have Session AA training," Ruliyan snarled.

"What's Session AA training?" Kotaro asked as he stretched his arms above his head.

"You know how hard Session A training is?" Kagenui asked him as he nodded and lowered his arms. "Take that but intensify it. Basically, he wants us to train against each other until we're-"

"Practically dead," Ruliyan interrupted.

"Damn," they muttered in unison.

-----

"And you are?" Rafael asked as he eyed Mike, who was sitting on the couch next to Rumiku. He had a small smirk on his face the entire time he was explaining his story.

"Mike, resident bighead of the group," Rikku responded before Mike could open his mouth. Rafael smiled slightly as he looked over at Julius who held up his hands and shook his head.

"You've told us about the orbs before, but I still don't understand what they do," Patrick spoke up.

"Well, that's no surprise," Noah said with a smile as Patrick glared at him.

"We don't know much about it either so I'm afraid I can't tell you much about it," Rafael admitted. "But what I can tell you is that there's a shrine that we had just found while we were excavating in this mountain that's near my home. It's a shrine dedicated to the Elemental of Fire and the Elemental of Water."

"Zack and Cody?" Aaron asked as he put down his book of Braille. His sightless, cloudy blue eyes were trained in Rafael's direction even though he couldn't focus on him.

"No," Rafael said as he shook his head. "The Elementals of Fire and Water age of the past centuries."

"There were Elementals centuries ago?" Mike asked in genuine curiosity.

"Yeah, I read about it in a book Raf-sempai let me borrow once," Crystal spoke up. "It said something about there being a fight between the sons of an Elemental King."

"That's right," Rafael said as he sent a warm smile in her direction and she smiled slightly in return. "The Elementals of Fire and Water in that time are reincarnated into Zack and Cody."

"Whoa," they muttered in unison.

"Not that I want to stop your education, but it's getting late," Christian said as he pointed at the clock which read 11:30 pm.

"Time flies," Julius muttered. "C'mon Syd, Pat, Noah, bedtime."

"But I'm not tired," Patrick said before a yawn slipped out, betraying him. "Actually, bed sounds good," he said as he got off the couch.

"C'mon Syd," Noah said to his eight-year-old brother as he pushed Sydney off the couch.

"Do you need help going to bed?" Crystal asked Aaron as they stood.

"I'm not a little kid, I can put myself to bed," Aaron protested as he got off the couch. Aaron then walked out of the room and Crystal followed close behind. Rikku, Rumiku, Julius, and Mike remained in their places as Rafael leaned back in his chair and rested his hands behind his head. Mike's fingers twitched by his side before he stood and went up the stairs.

"What do you want?" Crystal asked without turning around as she pulled the covers up and over Aaron as Patrick and Noah did the same to Sydney.

"I want to know why you hate me," Mike responded from the doorway.

"I don't hate you," Crystal said before kissing Aaron's forehead and taking the Braille book out of his hands to put it on the desk.

"But you don't like me," he pointed out.

"Rikk doesn't but you don't seem to be questioning her," Patrick spoke up as he and his twin left the room. Crystal closed the door behind them before turning to Mike.

"Truth of the matter, sometimes I don't trust you because I don't know anything about you. You have someone after you yourself and you could wind up getting us all killed because of your thick headedness," Crystal told him.

"Anything I can do to make you trust me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, you can't _make_ me trust you, you have to earn my trust," she replied before going to the room and closing the door behind herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Core stood on the balcony overlooking the training room and watched as the BlackWolves and DarkLions faced off against each other. "Look at them," he said. He shook his head as he watched them train. "Perhaps what they need is...more time." He walked back to his office and looked out through one of the windows. "Yes, that should work out perfectly."

"Such a funny thing," Core continued to mutter to himself. "Time...so simple, yet so powerful..." He poured himself a large glass of wine before sitting back down at his computer. A smile crossed his face. "I believe after this they should be strong enough to obtain it. Soon nothing will be able to stand in my way, not even the 'strongest elementals." He took a sip before he reached over and hit an intercom button on his desk that would allow him to talk to the BlackWolves and Darklions while they were training.

"Ruliyan, Kagenui," Core said. The two of them stopped their match momentarily to listen to Core. "I want a status report the moment you are finished."

"What?" Kagenui said looking over at Ruliyan. Next he looked over at the rest of them and wasn't happy to find they had also stopped, because he knew that Core's wrath would come down on him and Ruliyan first. "GET BACK TO WORK!" He yelled, and the rest of them promptly returned to their matches.

Koto and Caos, who were facing each other, each made a face at him before they returned to their training. Kagenui saw it, and was annoyed. "Oh I'm sorry," he said. "Maybe YOU want to be the ones to explain to Master Core why we keep losing to them." After another look, Koto and Caos returned to their match.

Core smiled as he got up again and walked back to the window. He gave the wine glass in his hand a small shake and watched as the moon light reflected off the ripples that formed in the cup.

-----

"Come on Cody!" Zack almost shouted at his twin. "Wake up!"

Cody groaned as he rolled over again. "I'm up," he said with a yawn. He began to sit up but a second later fell back on his pillow. Zack rolled his eyes as he shook his twin to wake him up again. "OK! OK! I'm up," Cody grumbled, finally sitting up all the way. A moment later, he found enough strength to swing himself around and get off his bed.

"Jeez Cody," Zack said, raising an eyebrow. "Usually you gotta wake me up."

"Yea, yea," Cody replied dully through another yawn. "I'm just still a little worn out from that test."

"Maybe this will help ya," Zack said with a grin. Before Cody could reply, he bolted to the bathroom and filled a cup with cold water. His grin grew as he said. "Good morning Cody!" and threw the water on his twin's face.

Cody made a face as the water dripped off his face and hair. "Thanks Zack," Cody said sarcastically. "I feel so much better now."

"Anytime buddy," Zack replied as he grabbed his clothes and headed for bathroom to take a shower and get changed.

Cody shook his head, but he had to admit that he did feel a little more awake. "I'm gonna get him for that one..." Cody said to himself as he gathered up his own clothes.

Once the twins had finished getting ready they sat down for breakfast. Carey had made pancakes for each of them. Cody had a stack of blueberry pancakes and Zack had a stack of chocolate chip pancakes. Cody reached over, grabbed the syrup, and began pouring it out.

"Uh buddy," Zack said, making a face. "You sure you're ok?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, why?"

Zack cracked a smile and started chuckling. "Because you just filled your juice glass with syrup."

"Huh?" Cody said as he looked down. His pancakes were bone dry and his glass was now filled with the sticky brown liquid. "Ugh! I can't believe I just did that!"

"That was good," Zack replied with another chuckle. He continued laugh as Cody poured the syrup out his glass and onto his pancakes. "I've never had syrup mixed in with my orange juice before, tell me is it good?" Zack teased.

"Shut it," Cody replied.

School wasn't much better for Cody. Twice he grabbed the wrong text book and had to be reminded several times by his teachers that their class was not nap time. Finally it was ninth period. "Go home and get some sleep," his teacher said as he packed up his backpack.

"Right, thanks" Cody replied dully. On his way out, he couldn't help but glance in the teacher's lounge and at the TV that hung angled opposite the door. He saw the teachers had the news on, but he almost had to do a double take at what he saw. It was a breaking story on another robbery. "Jeez, they ever gonna catch this guy?" His eyes widened when he saw the security footage, the person robbing the store looked just like Zack. "What?" Cody muttered, inching closer to get a better look. A sharp glance from one of teachers however told him to leave. "Uh, I think I better get home," Cody said to himself as he quickly walked out to meet Zack and the rest of his friends.

----

"Well I hope we feel nice and refreshed," Core said to Ruliyan and Kagenui as they faced him again. "Or do we need to start going to doubles more often?"

"I don't think we need to," Ruliyan said, exhaustion showing through his voice.

"Good," Core said as he walked over to the window and started playing with the curtains. He looked back at them. "So I trust you will not fail me again?"

"No Master Core," Ruliyan and Kagenui replied nearly in unision.

"Very well," Core said. "Now I have a new mission for you. I need something before we can go ahead with my latest set of plans." He looked at Ruliyan and Kagenui to make sure he still had their attention, each looked at him with interest. "I've recently come across an interesting item, tell me have either of you ever heard of the Stone of Time?"

"Isn't that a legend?" Ruliyan asked. Core raised an eyebrow, causing Ruliyan to fall silent.

"What was that Ruliyan?" Core asked softly.

"Supposed to give whoever holds it the ability to control time," Ruliyan replied, stuttering. He was already worn out and wasn't in the mood to get disciplined by Core again. "I-I always thought it was a myth, though." Kagenui glanced back and forth between him and Core.

Core looked from Ruliyan to Kagenui, and back to Ruliyan. "Then I suggest you come up with a way to obtain mythical items, rapidly. Now go."

-----

"How could that have possibly been me?" Zack said when Cody told him what he had seen. "I've been in school all day." Rikku and Rumiku also looked interested. The four of them were waiting for Patrick, Noah, and Sydney to finish up with school so the elementals could all go hear what Rafael had to say.

Cody shrugged his shoulders. "Just what I saw."

"I definitely think you need a nap buddy," Zack replied.

"It is kinda of interesting though," Rikku said. "All these robberies lately."

"The funny thing is, each time, the robber has looked at least a little like one of us," Cody said. Alan and Ryan walked up catching the tail end of the conversation.

"Hey, guys," Alan said. "What'd we miss?"

"Cody was just explaining how Zack somehow robbed that store earlier while he was still in school.," Rumiku said.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Ryan said.

"Well that's fine, 'cause everything gets past you Cooper," Zack snapped.

"You mean like the fact that you even made it to high school?" Ryan retorted. "Yea Martin, that one still escapes me."

"You wanna come over here and saw that?" Zack said moving towards Ryan.

"All right break it up!" Rikku said firmly. She, Cody and Alan all stepped between them to stop a fight from breaking out. "Sometimes I wonder how either of you ever got past kindergarten."

"Anyway," Cody said trying to quickly change the subject, "you said Rafael has a lot of new information to tell us?" Rikku nodded. A moment later Patrick, Noah and Sydney joined them. Cody looked back at the school motioned "hi" to them before nervously glancing back at the school. "I wonder what's taking Crystal so long," he muttered.

"I think she said she had to pick up a few things on the way home and she'd meet us there," Alan said.

"Ok," Cody replied.

Once they arrived at Crystals, the group greeted Rafael, Julius, and Christian.

"Hey guys," Mike said when she walked in. "Hey Rumiku."

"Hey," she replied. Rikku rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"Hey," Cody said before walking past the rest of them and plopping himself down on the couch.

"You all right there Cody?" Christian asked when he walked in.

"Yea," Cody replied dully.

"You just wore him out yesterday," Zack said cracking a grin. "Ain't that right little brother?" He said shaking Cody. Cody shot him a dirty look, telling him to back off.

"Anyway guys," Cody said. Next he looked at Rafael. "I got some interesting news, but you go first."

"That's fine," Rafael said. "I can wait."

"Ok," Cody said. "Anyway, you know these robberies? Anyway with the latest one, they got the culprit on tape again. But this time, it looked just like Zack."

Julius raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure Cody?"

Cody shook his head. "Positive," he said. "But here's the thing, Zack was in school all day. There's no possible way he could have done it."

"Unless he's been skipping class," Ryan muttered. Julius heard him however.

"Be quiet Ryan," Julius said warningly. Ryan sighed but otherwise fell silent.

"So I dunno," Cody said, swallowing. Rafael looked at him, a genuine look of interest over his face. Cody turned to him when he saw this. "What do you think?"

Rafael took a deep breath. "Well there was one thing," he said. "I was going to save this until after I explained everything to you guys that I told them last night, but I guess it fits."

"What?" Zack asked. Ryan and Alan also looked really interested.

"In one of the shrines back in Japan," Rafael said. "There was one of the weirdest encryptions I've ever seen. It explained how to find a very powerful item, one that will definitely be helpful in our on going battle with Wingz Corp."

"What is it?" Cody asked, really curious now.

"I wrote it down," Rafael said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and began to read it, but Julius cut him off.

"I think we should wait till Crystal gets back," Julius said. Christian also nodded his agreement. Rafael sighed as he nodded.

"So then let's watch TV in the mean time," Patrick said, reaching for the remote. He rolled his eyes when saw the channel that popped up. And quickly began clicking the channel up button, looking for something.

"Hey turn that back!" Cody said, as one of the flicking channels caught his eye.

"Where?" Patrick said as he constantly hit the channel up and down button, looking for whatever Cody had saw. "What'd you see?"

"Here, let me see that," Cody said, reaching for the remote, which Patrick handed to him a second later. Finally he found what he was looking for. His eyes widened as they took in the picture.

It was a live action news feed. The cops were chasing someone down the street. "W-what?" Cody said in disbelief.

It was Crystal.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
**  
"Thanks," Crystal said as she handed convenience store clerk money for the groceries she was buying.

"Have a nice day," the clerk said as he handed Crystal her change and finished bagging her groceries. "Come again."

"Thanks," Crystal repeated and with a quick smile headed out of the store and towards her home. A quick glance at her watch told her that she was running late. She sighed as she shook her head and set down her backpack and opened it to put away the bags of groceries. Once she was done, she reached into her pocket and took out her phone and flipped to Rafael's number to call him and let him know that she was running late. Suddenly Crystal felt someone run smack into her shoulder, knocking her phone out of her hand. Acting fast, Crystal was able to catch herself as well as catch a quick glimpse of whoever had run into her. From the back, the person looked a little like her, and also had her hair in a pony tail. However before Crystal could get a good look at whoever it was that had bumped into her, the person speedily bolted down a nearby alley.

Crystal stood still for a few seconds, unsure of what to make of the situation. For a moment she almost thought she had imagined the whole situation. She shook her head again as she brushed herself off, but her look quickly turned to anger at what she saw next. On the ground near her feet was her phone, and a few inches away was the battery. She picked both items up and her anger continued to grow when she saw the screen on her phone, which now had a large crack down the middle of it and several large black blotches from the spilled liquid crystal. Shoving her now destroyed phone into her pocket, she turned to take off after whoever had run into her.

"HEY! STOP!"

Crystal turned her head and within a few seconds was surrounded by cops. Police cars with their sirens flashing and blaring pulled right up to the curb next to her.

"What-" Crystal began but was cut off by who seemed to be the lead officer. She let go of her bag and slowly brought her hands up when she saw several other police officers had also moved into position.

"Thought you could get away huh?" The cop said as he roughly grabbed her and put hand cuffs on her wrists.

"What's going on?" Crystal asked, finally finding her voice.

"Don't pretend," the cop responded in an angry voice. Another cop came over and helped him lead her to one of the police cars and put her in the back seat, where a third cop was waiting to read her rights to her.

"You have the right to remain silent," third cop began. Crystal tuned him out as she tried to figure out the situation. Maybe it had something to do with whoever had bumped into her. One thing was for sure, she was going to find whoever it was and get to the bottom of what was going on.

Once at the police station, Crystal remained quiet, even though she knew that she innocent. She got her fingerprints taken and after filling out some paperwork, she was taken into another room for questioning.

"So, Crystal Miroshi, what's your plea?" The detective asked her after he had sit down across from her and glanced at her paperwork.

"I didn't do it," Crystal grumbled.

"None of them ever do," the detective replied slyly. A moment later one of the secretaries walked in with a cup of coffee and set it down next to him. "Thanks," the detective said with a smile to his secretary before turning his attention back to Crystal. "Coffee?" He asked her before smiling again and taking a sip. "Now do you want to tell me what's going on?" He asked her after swallowing the drink and taking another one.

"I was walking home and someone bumped into me," Crystal said, trying to control the anger in her voice. "The next thing I knew I was surrounded by cops."

"So you _claim_," the detective continued, placing unnecessary emphasis on the word "claim," and scribbling down some notes in the process. "That you were never at the department store on eighth?"

"Why would I be all the way over there?" Crystal said, still attempting to control the anger in her voice. "Besides what'd they say was stolen anyway?"

"I'll ask the questions," the detective snapped. He glared at her, but she wasn't going to back down. "I'd suggest you cooperate," he continued. "You seem like a good kid."  
"You got no idea," Crystal mumbled under her breath so she was the only one that heard it.

"So you don't want to mess your whole entire life up do you?" The detective continued. "So how about you tell us what happened and we can all move on."

"I didn't do it," Crystal replied in a similar tone to as before.

"Then I guess we don't have any options," the detective said with a sigh. A moment later another officer walked in and whispered something into the detective's ear. His eyes flashed as he took in what the other cop said. Crystal strained to listen but couldn't hear anything. "How do you..." his voice trailed off. "All right, ok..." The detective looked back at Crystal, who met his eyes with the same icy stare she had the entire time. "They didn't find what was missing in your bag, and what you're wearing doesn't match the convenience store video, so I guess that's it."

"I wonder why," Crystal muttered again to herself. The detective led her out of the room and into the lobby where she sat down across from the secretary's desk.

"We'll give your father a call and tell him to come pick you up," the detective said as he reached over to dial.

"Why, can't waste your own gas?" Crystal said to no one in particular.

After some more waiting, Christian arrived and signed Crystal out. The ride home was a silent one and before long they pulled up to Christian's house. Crystal was still fuming so she slammed the door and when she got inside threw her bag against the wall.

"Hey," Cody said with a faint smile when she got inside. She looked over at him and her look softened for a second as she returned the gesture before sitting down on the couch.

"What happened?" Zack asked when he got over. Crystal ignored him though.

A second later, Christian also walked over. "So what happened?" He said, echoing Zack's question. "I got the overview from the police, so what exactly's going on?" Rafael, Ryan and Alan, the Hiroshimas, Mike, and Aaron were also interested to find out what had happened.

Crystal glanced around the room at all the eyes looking at her. Her eyes fell on her father and brother, followed by Cody, then the rest of them. After going through everything at the police station however, she wasn't in the mood to tell the story again, especially with Mike listening. "Don't worry about it," Crystal said finally. Next she looked at Christian. "I'll tell you later," she said in a disgusted voice.

"No, now," Christian said in a fatherly tone, surprising her.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

Crystal groaned. "Fine," she said. Next she proceeded to tell the whole story from where whoever it was had bumped into her, destroying her phone, to the whole ordeal at the police station.

"So your phone's completely busted?" Zack asked, drawing some looks and rolled eyes.

"Yea," Crystal said sarcastically. She pulled out the phone and showed them. "So with any luck, that's the worst that'll happen."

"You just got that phone," Aaron said. Although he couldn't see the phone, he could tell it was beyond repair by the sounds of everyone around him.

"Duh," Crystal said. "That's what's got me more pissed off than anything."

"Anyway," Julius said, trying to get everyone's attention back to the original reason for the meeting. He turned to Crystal. "Rafael said he found something really powerful, but we wanted to wait for you."

"Yea?" Crystal asked, her mood perking up. "Also it's great seeing you again Rafael. How was Japan?"

"Very nice," Rafael said. "Anyway, as I began explaining to them earlier, one of the shrines I visited I believe holds the key to a very powerful item that would be very beneficial in our battle against Wingz Corp."

"Yea?" Crystal repeated. Everyone else's attention also turned back to Rafael.

"As I said earlier," Rafael said. "I wrote down the encryptions," he pulled out a piece of paper. "They're written in an older form of Japanese so this may take a few minutes."

"Take your time," Julius said.

Rafael cleared his throat and read.

_"Of all the ages, it was foreseen and told._

_He who holds the key to passage through past, present and future._

_To hold the power to see is to hold the power to change._

_As of his will shall all rearrange._

_The fate of time, the fate of man._

_It is so in his hands, the fate of all shall stand."_

"Come again?" Zack asked, obviously lost. Patrick and Noah held similar looks as did Ryan and Alan.

"Essentially," Rafael continued. "I believe it describes a mythical item known as the "Stone of Time."

"Stone of Time?" Rumiku repeated unsure.

"According to legend," Rafael said. "Long ago there was an Elemental who controlled time."

"So he could travel to whenever he wanted?" Mike asked, who had until this time remained quiet.

"It was so peaceful before," Rikku said with a roll of her eyes. "Why couldn't it stay that way/"

Mike looked at her. "What?"

"Oh, I think you know what I mean," Rikku said.

"Obviously I don't," Mike said rounding on her.

"Ok, will you two put it aside?" Christian said rubbing his head.

"All they ever do is fight," Aaron muttered.

"Well he can't help himself," Rikku said. "His ego is so big he would die of shock if he ever shut up."

"You're one to talk," Mike retorted.

"OK! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Julius said, stepping between them. "Anyway, please continue Rafael."

"Not yet," Rafael said. "First you two," he pointed to Mike and Rikku. "Outside until you can work out whatever it is between you."

"You mean the fact that I'm alive?" Mike said, getting a look.

"That's exactly it!" Rikku said. "Wait, am I still here? With him being right about something, I thought the world was just about to end."

"What's your problem?" Mike snapped.

"YOU!" Rikku retorted.

"OK! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Julius said. "I agree with Rafael, you two OUTSIDE!"

"You can't be serious," Rikku said. She groaned as her eyes flashed from Mike to her brother and back.

"Watch me," Julius returned with a smirk. With Rafael and Christian's help, they shoved Mike and Rikku outside and locked the door behind them.

Rikku growled as she attempted to open the door to no avail. She banged on it a few times, but no one answered. "You..." she glared at Mike.

"Don't blame me," Mike snapped. "But I don't think I'm going to be out here much longer." He smiled as his eyes began to glow blue and his body glowed white. A second later, he disappeared. However, he reappeared in the same spot another second later. "What the hell? Why can't I teleport in?"

Rikku rolled her eyes. "They probably put up a barrier for that very reason, so now I'm stuck out here with you."

"Your sister doesn't mind when that happens," Mike replied with a smirk. Another look from Rikku however caused it to melt away. With that, he began to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rikku said as she jogged to catch up to him.

"The store," Mike replied. "I'm gonna grab a Mountain Dew."

"No you aren't," Rikku said. "I'm not sitting out here all by myself."

"Have fun," Mike replied with a smile as he continued to walk towards a nearby 7 Eleven.

"I hate you!" Rikku yelled.

"I know," Mike replied without turning around. "But the way I look at it, you can sit there hating me or hate me while walking and talking so we can at least convince Julius that we worked something out. So what's it going to be?"

Rikku remained silent as she got up and followed him.

-----  
"So you think they're going to calm down?" Cody asked with a sigh.

"You can't be serious Codes," Zack replied. "Those two?"

"So does that mean you're giving up on Rikku, Martin?" Ryan asked. "Good move."

"Not a chance Cooper," Zack retorted.

"Well until he brings his ego down some," Crystal said. "I don't think they're ever going to get along. But knowing Rikku....um sorry Cody I'm going to have to go with Zack on this one." Cody nodded as he sighed again.

"Guess you're right," Cody said.

"I think they both could grow up some though," Alan said. "I haven't known him that long, but I do know Rikku pretty well, and it seems like neither can put their own ego aside."

"Guys, it's not nice to talk about people when they aren't there to defend themselves," Christian said. Sydney, who had pulled out his lab top looked up and nodded his agreement.

"Yea," Sydney said. "So Rafael about the stone of time, you didn't finish the story."

"Yea," Rafael said. "There was an Elemental that lived a long time ago, about the same time as the original Fire and Water," he motioned towards Zack and Cody. "Who became Zack and Cody. Again, time was his element, making him very powerful. Unfortunately, I didn't get the entire story, because of the condition of many of the markings, but apparently there was a large battle that ensued."

"Battle?" Patrick asked.

"Yes," Rafael said. "It was an Elemental War, but towards the end of the battle, his powers to control time got sealed away."

"In the Stone of Time," Cody said, his eyes wide.

"Yes," Rafael said with a nod.

-----  
Mike and Rikku walked out of the store. He opened his Mountain Dew and took a healthy swig. "That's good," Mike said with a smile. Rikku rolled her eyes. Mike mockingly sighed and began walking back.

"You ever consider that your ego is too big for your own good?" Rikku asked in a disgusted tone.

"From time to time," Mike replied.

"You're impossible!" Rikku said.

Mike coughed out his latest drink. "I'm impossible? You're the one who hates me for no real reason and won't leave me alone!"

"I wonder why," Rikku said innocently.

"Well, well," a voice said. "Who have we here?"

Mike and Rikku both looked around to see where the voice had come from. A glance down a nearby alley however told them both the answer. Walking towards them was a middle aged man wearing a black cloak. His eyes were two cold, empty holes and his shoulder length hair fanned out at the bottom. "Damien..." Mike said, his eyes narrowing. "As if I didn't have enough happening right now. What do you want?"

"What do I always want?" Damien replied with a smile as he approached them.

"A life?" Mike replied with a smirk. "A new hair style wouldn't hurt either."

"Like I said, it's a wonder you aren't dead yet," Rikku shot at Mike. She had lowered her voice so only he could hear, but Damien had heard her also.

"Well it would see she doesn't like you too much," Damien said. "So who am I to keep her in misery?" With that a green beam appeared around his arm which he then whipped at Mike and Rikku.

Acting fast, Mike and Rikku both jumped out of the way. A second later, Mike's eyes glowed blue and his weapon jumped from his pocket and into his hand. He hit a button on the side of it, causing a blue blade to appear at the end of its silver handle. The center of the blade glowed so brightly it was basically white.

"Why can't you just do what you're told," Rikku said as she backed off while Mike and Damien began to circle. Damien flung the green beam at him again, faster this time. Mike barely had enough time to get his blade up to parry the blow. Electricity from the beam surged down the blade causing a brilliant light. Mike leapt back and prepared for another attack.

"Shadow ball!" Mike said as a small black ball appeared in his other hand. Blue sparks danced around the ball as he flung it at Damien. Using a similar solid black ball, Damien blocked the attack. The collision of the two attacks caused a thick layer of black fog to fill the surrounding area.

"I can't see anything," Rikku said to herself. She held a chain sickle in her hand, ready in case an attack came her way.

-----  
After awhile, Noah looked up at the window. His eyes widened when he took in the empty picture outside their house. "Uh guys?" Noah said. "Mike and Rikku are supposed to be outside right?"

"Yea," Julius nodded. "Why?"

"Because they're not there now," Noah replied with a nervous sigh.

* * *

**Please Read and Review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Are you sure?" Zack asked him as he jumped to his feet and rushed to the window. "Man, he's right."

"When am I ever wrong?" Noah asked in an offended tone as he crossed his arms over his chest. Rumiku chuckled and gently ruffled his hair. He smiled up at her as she dropped her hand.

"What're we standing around here for? They could be in trouble, we have to find them," Zack said as he quickly pulled on his shoes.

"We can run pretty fast but we don't know where they are," Patrick spoke up. "We could split up, but it might take us a while to find them. We don't know if they were kidnapped or anything."

"They left voluntarily, we would've known if they were kidnapped," Christian spoke up. "There are sensors all over this place. If anyone got attacked here then the alarms would go off."

"Codes and I can take a look in the air with Phantom and Blazen," Zack suggested as their Guardians appeared by them in a flash of bright light.

"Dad, we shouldn't let both of them go," Crystal told him.

"Why not?" He asked.

"They're the strongest Elementals of our generation, right?" She didn't wait for anyone to answer. "It would be smart to let only one of them go, just in case one of them gets captured or something. Then both of them wouldn't be gone and we have a better chance of finding out where the other is."

"I'll go then," Zack said as he lightly slapped Cody on the back.

"Just so you can get the glory to bring Rikk back?" Cody asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think so. _I'll_ go. Phantom, do you think you can pick up where they are?" He asked as they two moved out the open door and Cody climbed onto Phantom's back. Phantom nodded before spreading out his wings.

"Quick, close the door!" Christian shouted. Julius and Rafael sprinted to the door and slammed it shut, just as a loud _whoosh_ sound reached their ears and the door was flung open by the force of the wind. Julius and Rafael fell to the ground and were pushed away from the door a couple of feet by the force of the wind.

"It's not fair," Zack fumed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Shut up, Zack," they all snapped in unison.

-----

Cody could feel tears falling down his face because of the wind that was hitting his face that made his eyes tear up. He reached up to brush them away but then changed his mind when he realized that they would just come back by how fast Phantom was moving. He tilted his head slightly so his hair wouldn't fall into his face as he looked at the ground below them to see if he could spot them.

"C'mon...where can you be?" He muttered to himself as he continued to look. He blinked and looked down when he saw that the small stone that was around his neck had started to glow. It stopped all of a sudden as Cody looked down at it in curiosity. His attention strayed when he heard a small explosion in the distance. Without having to say a word Phantom soared in that direction, quickly descending as they got closer and closer to the explosion sight. "There they are Phantom," Cody called as he pointed down below. Mike and Rikku were fighting with Damien and it looked as if they were losing. Rikku was holding her arm and was panting heavily as Mike held up his beam and strained to hold it against Damien's sword. "Phantom, use your hurricane attack!"

Phantom reared back and Cody gripped his feather's as tight as he could as Phantom flapped his wings as fast as he could, causing a strong force of wind started to push the fighting trio apart. Rikku and Mike slid back towards Phantom as Damien slid back the other way. Cody raised his hand as clouds formed above him in a cyclone of water came down and struck Damien right in the chest. He was sent flying backwards, up and over the 7 Eleven and out of sight. Phantom stopped flapping his wings as he lowered down to the ground. Cody slid off of his back and rushed over to Mike, who had fallen to one knee, and Rikku, who was clutching his arm to stop the blood flow.

"Are you two ok?" Cody asked as he took a look at Rikku's arm. He lifted his hand so his palm was lying flat above the gash in her arm. He pulled his hand back and the blood moved away from the gash, as if it was a snake being charmed. He closed his hand and the blood disappeared and all that was left was the open wound.

"Thanks," Rikku grunted as she lowered her sleeve to cover the gash. "See, this wouldn't've happened if you didn't make me leave."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Cody said in dismissive tone before going over to Mike who had staggered to his feet. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, nothing I can't fix myself," he responded with a small smile.

"Don't!" Cody said in a warning tone as he pointed at Rikku who had opened her mouth to say something but she closed it. "We have to get back. Rafael just told us something really important that you guys should know. Mike, are you going to teleport back?"

"Umm...I kinda can't," he responded.

"Why not?"

"Well, it takes a lot of power to be able to teleport somewhere, and I'm exhausted," he responded as he wiped his brow.

"Ok, you're all going to have to come back with Phantom and I," Cody said as he walked back towards his guardian. He stopped when he noticed that they weren't following him. "What?"

"I'm not letting him touch me," Rikku responded. Cody let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine, Phantom, is there any way you can use your wind to help us?" Cody asked him. Phantom smiled.

--------

"Are they back yet?" Patrick asked. Zack, who had stood with his forehead pressed against the window, shook his head. "I'm getting worried."

"Rikk's fine," Julius told him from his position on the floor where he was playing cards with Rafael. "You'd know if she weren't. They should be back any minute now." Right as that sentence came out of his mouth the door flew open from the force of the wind and he and Rafael were pushed away a couple of feet. "Not again!" Julius cried out as he looked at everyone upside-down, which was how he and Rafael landed when they crashed into the wall.

"Sorry," Cody apologized as he, Mike, Rikku stepped through the door. Phantom, in his little bird form, flew through the door and landed on Cody's shoulder, chirping. He closed the door and shook his head, trying to get his hair to lie flat from the style the wind had created for him. "Now Raf, I think these two have settled their differences for today. Can you finish the story?"

"I'd like to take a look at them first," Christen said as he stood. "Just to make sure no bones are broken or anything."

"Only my arm hurts," Rikku said as she lifted her sleeve to show the gash that was wide open but otherwise clean. "Cody made the bleeding stop."

"What? How'd you do that?" Sydney asked in curiosity as he turned his big blue eyes to the blond teen.

"I don't know. It seemed like a good idea. I mean, blood is kind of like water, right?" Cody shrugged and sat down on the couch as Christian twisted Rikku's arm in different ways to make sure that the gash was the only injury. Julius went over to her and put a hand on her arm. His hand glowed a bright light before he removed it and the gash was gone.

"I think you developed a new part of your power," Alan spoke up from his place in the chair. "It would make sense. I mean, at first all Ryan could do was manipulate the shadows. He could change someone's shadow and move through it. Now he can use their shadow to hurt them."

"What? Why didn't you say anything about that?" Noah demanded.

"It didn't seem like the right time?" Alan responded with a shrug. "Besides, nothing else happened to me. I just thought it was something that Ryan could do all along but was too stupid to actually _know_ how to do it."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed before making a face. "Hey!"

"So...our powers are developing?" Sydney asked as they all turned to Christian.

"I would say yes but I can't be sure until I-" Christian started.

"Don't! Don't say anything else about tests!" Crystal said as she pointed her finger at him.

"What's wrong with tests?" Rumiku asked.

"I'm always the guinea pig," she responded with an eye roll. "He doesn't want to try it on you because you're not his direct children. He needs to test it on something with his direct blood."

"It's not my fault you were born," he said with a shrug.

"Yes it was," she responded as she turned to him. "I mean, you had to be there when you and Mom-"

"Little kids!" Rikku hissed as she glanced over at Sydney who was looking at them innocently. "Before we do anything else, we have to figure out why Cody's been seeing us robbing different stores."

"It's only reflections I see in mirrors and glass and stuff in things that the robbers pass on their way out of the store. At least, that's what it looks like," Cody responded as he sat down and leaned against the couch.

"I noticed that it always seems to happen whenever one of us isn't here," Alan pointed out. "It was Rikku first. Cody saw it on a news tape right? If it was her, not that I'm saying it is, the only time she could have done it was when she was upstairs while we were finishing our tests. And Crys, when it showed that newsfeed of the police chasing you down the street, you weren't here either."

"I didn't do it!" She cried out when she noticed Christian's gaze resting on her. "You _know_ I didn't!"

"It's just what I saw, sir," Cody said quickly. "I don't understand...why you guys can't see it," he said in a small voice.

"You're not going to cry are you?" Zack asked with an eye roll.

"Zack, leave Cody alone, he hasn't done anything to you!" Rikku snapped. Zack glared when he heard Ryan snickering and flipped him off. Ryan just smirked as he stayed silent.

"But why is it us you see?" Rikku asked as she leaned over so her dark eyes were glaring right into Cody's bright ones.

"He doesn't know," Alan told her, lowering his hand and widening his eyes slightly since they were squinted before. "And he wants you to back up from him in case you burn his face." Rikku took a couple of steps back as she had her arms crossed over her chest, as if she had taken it personally when Cody announced that he saw her robbing a store.

"I'm so confused, I know what I saw, but I know it couldn't have been you," Cody said as he ran his hands through his hair and let out a breath.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Aaron said as he walked into the room, expertly moving around the furniture until he reached Christian's side. "Dinner's ready. I made meatloaf."

"How can you make something if you're-" Ryan started.

"You're blinding us with your many talents!" Rafael interjected as a peaceful smile came across Aaron's face.

"It's ok Raf, you don't have to protect me," Aaron told him, the smile never leaving his face. "Go on, I don't want it to get cold. The seasoning won't be good anymore."

"He's right, we can talk about this over dinner," Christian agreed as he placed his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "I'll call your parents and tell them that you're staying over," he added as they started to rush out of the room. "Cody, I want you to stay for a second."

A confused look crossed Cody's face as he stayed in the room but he stood from his place in front of the couch. Crystal stayed in the doorway and kept her eyes on Christian as he focused on Cody. "From what Alan said it does sound like you all are tapping into your powers even more now than usual. I want to test you first, because you were the one who showed first signs of it. They're not going to hurt; I just want to see what you can do with the water. We'll do it after dinner, ok."

"Ok sir," Cody responded. "You're an element scientist, which means you should have traveled around the world, am I correct."

"Yes," Christian said with a nod.

"I'm under the impression that you didn't work alone."

"That's correct."

"I also assume that Core was one of your partners," he said after a moment's hesitation.

"You are right about that," Christian agreed. He glanced over Cody's head to see the confused look on Crystal's face before he glanced back at Cody. "But that should be saved for another time. Go and get something to eat." He paused. "You too, Crystal."

Cody whirled around and locked eyes with her. He studied her face, trying to figure out what she was thinking but her face was void of any emotion. He noticed that she wasn't looking at him and followed her gaze out the window. His eyebrows knitted together when he didn't see anything. He turned back around to see that she had all ready left the room. He felt a small hand in his and looked down to see Aaron grinning at him. "Don't you worry about her," he whispered. "She was worried about you while you were gone. The only time she usually never shows what she's feeling is when she has something on her mind, so don't take it personally." Cody smiled a little and ruffled Aaron's hair before walking with the boy into the kitchen. He noticed that Alan had a confused look on his face as he sat down.

"What's on your mind?" Cody asked him.

"I keep having this dream," Alan started. "It happens every night but one small detail is changed each time. It's in the future. Core was able to take over the world. I could see the flames and the destruction so easily it was like it was real. The laughter, the destruction, the imprisonment, everything. Elementals on our side were being put in jail and treated like...like dirt...lower than dirt." He squeezed his eyes shut as he started to shake a little bit. Rumiku, who was sitting next to him, placed a hand on his shoulder and he instantly relaxed. Mike made a snorting noise but otherwise remained silent. "The worst part...was that we helped him. In each dream was a different way we helped him, but we helped him take over nonetheless. We would be fighting and he'd use that against us. He'd get our elements somehow and use it against us. No matter what we did, he used something against us." He opened his eyes and looked around the table. "Guys, I'm scared."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Well...we're not dumb enough to help Core in whatever he's doing," Cody spoke up. "Zack, maybe but..."

"That is _so_ not funny!" Zack said as he glared at his twin. Cody shrugged before he continued eating. "You said it was a dream, right? So there's a really good chance that it won't come true."

"Notice who you're talking to, Zack," Rumiku spoke up. "He can read people's minds, he can use his mind to make people do something, and he can make things move with his mind. It seriously wouldn't surprise me if he had the power of premonition."

"This is getting serious," Christian muttered to himself. "What day is it?"

"Thursday," Aaron replied almost automatically.

"I want all of you to stop by any time you're free on Saturday," Christian said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Does that mean we're stuck here all weekend?" Sydney asked with wide eyes.

"No, Syd," Christian said with a laugh. "You can leave any time you want to."

"Thank you _God!" _ Crystal muttered.

"Codes, we gotta go, Mom's going to be worried," Zack said as he glanced at his watch.

"Ok. Christian, we're going to have to schedule a different time," Cody said in an apologetic tone. Christian nodded before Cody and Zack left the room. They pulled on their shoes and called goodbye to everyone before leaving the house. "I'm not in the mood to walk," Cody stated.

Zack nodded in agreement before Blazen and Phantom appeared by their sides. They climbed on top of their Guardians and were immediately whisked into the sky. Zack loved the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair as it whistled in his ears. He closed his eyes and leaned against Blazen, feeling the warm soft feathers underneath his palm. That feeling instantly relaxed him as he let out a breath. Despite what was going on and how confused they all felt, he was the most relaxed he has ever been.

"Zack," Cody called from Phantom's back. Zack looked over at him. "I know what I saw," Cody continued as he looked hard at his hands. "I saw Rikku and Crystal robbing those stores, but I know it wasn't them."

"How do you explain it then? You saw them do it, in a way, but it's not them? I don't get it."

"I don't either," Cody said as he let out a frustrated breath. "They wouldn't do that, especially Rikk. She may seem all rough 'n' tough but she wouldn't steal. I keep thinking Core has something to do with this but they haven't done anything to us in a while."

"We can't let our guards down, though," Zack reminded him.

Cody nodded as he fell silent. They landed on the roof of the Tipton before Phantom and Blazen shrunk and perched on Zack's and Cody's shoulders. They opened a hatch and climbed down a ladder like they saw Arwin do numerous times. They opened a door and stuck their heads out, looking around before slipping out and rushing to the elevator.

"Do you want to watch some monster trucks?" Zack asked as they entered their hotel room. Cody looked around and spied a note on the table informing them that she was out singing.

"No, I just want to look at my e-mail and go to sleep, I'm beat," Cody said as he stretched his arms over his head.

"Right, because you actually got the chance to fight," Zack said with an eyeroll. "Man, do I wish that I could get my hands around Damien's neck."

"And do what? Massage it? He's a whole lot stronger than we are," Cody pointed out.

"Yes, but he hurt Rikku," Zack said as the twins locked eyes with each other. Cody let out a small chuckle before running a hand through his hair. He muttered goodnight to his brother before going into their room and closing the door behind himself.

He climbed onto his bed and pulled his laptop onto his lap and waited for it to boot up as he rubbed his eyes and let out a long breath. Once it was on the entire way he checked his e-mail before logging onto IM to see if Rafael was on. He was.

**Codes216:** Raf, can I ask you something?

**Raf-san:** Sure, what's up Cody?

**Codes216**: It's about the Stone of Time

**Codes216**: From my understanding the Stone of Time allows you to stop time and reverse it and travel through it.

**Raf-san**: Yeah, that's right.

**Codes216**: What if, in the future, Core all ready has it?

**Raf-san**: What do you mean?

**Codes216**: You know how I keep seeing people we know robbing banks and stuff?

**Raf-san**: Yeah?

**Codes216**: What if it's the future versions of themselves?

**Codes216**: What if, in the future, Core has control of the Stone of Time and of the Jacksons and Crystal?

**Codes216**: What if he's using them to rob banks so the present versions of them can get in trouble with the law so they're out of the way?

**Raf-san**: We're in a lot more trouble than we thought if you're suspicions are right

**Raf-san**: I'll look into this but I'm going to need your help, Sydney's help, and Aaron's help.

**Raf-san**: But you can't say _anything_ to anyone else.

**Codes216**: Why not?

**Raf-san**: I don't want them to worry over something we don't know about.

**Raf-san**: Are you in?

**Codes216**: Definitely.

---------

**Short on purpose. Please read and review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Over the course of the next few days, Cody didn't talk much. His stomach had been in a tight knot ever since his conversation with Rafael. At first, Zack somewhat enjoyed the silence, but was growing more and more concerned. Whenever he asked Cody about it however, Cody would quickly change the subject or walk out of the room muttering. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Finally Saturday rolled around. Each of the twins packed up whatever stuff they felt they would need while they were at Christians'. They summoned Blazen and Phantom and were about to get going, when there was a knock at the door.

"Oh boy," Cody said, his eyes wide. "It's mom."

"Crap," Zack said, frozen, unsure of what to do.

Looking back and forth, Cody quickly thought up a plan. "Uh, coming." He said loudly in the calmest voice he could muster. Next he motioned to Blazen and Phantom. "Quick, under the beds," he said to them in a quiet voice.

Phantom nodded and transformed into his little bird form before hopping under Cody's bed. Blazen however looked apprehensive. "You mean get under Master Zack's bed?" He asked, twisting his eyebrows. "It's like a death trap under there."

Zack shot him a look and Cody rolled his eyes. "Just hide! Fast!" Cody commanded. Zack also nodded. A half second later, Blazen followed Phantom's example and hopped under Cody's bed.

"Come in!" Cody yelled. His eyes watched the door. "See? Not ever your own guardian can stand your mess." He shot quickly in a quiet voice at Zack.

"Shut it," Zack shot back as the door opened.

Cody grinned for a half second before he turned his attention back to Carey, their mom, who had just walked in. "Hey mom," he said in a calm voice. "We were about to head over to Crystal's, what's up?"

Carey smiled. "Ok boys, have fun."

"Thanks mom," the twins replied in unison.

"Except first," Carey began, drawing looks from each of the twins. "You two are going to help me clean the suite."

Each of the twins' jaws dropped. "Come on mom," Cody said.

"You can't be serious," Zack said, looking at Carey with pleading eyes.

"As serious as the mess you two left last night," Carey replied.

"But I told Crystal we'd be over today, she needs our help with something," Cody said.

"Well clean the suite first, then you can go help her," Carey replied. "I've gotta go to rehearsal."

"B-but you just said we were going to help you!" Zack said. "Not do all the work ourselves!"

"I did help you," Carey said. "By informing you two that it needs to be cleaned. Love you boys."

"Love you," Cody said in a dull voice. Zack just nodded. After Carey left, Cody rounded on Zack. "How much of a mess could you have possibly made?"

"Uh...I just had a few snacks," Zack said sheepishly. "It shouldn't take too long to clean."

Cody rolled his eyes before looking back towards his bed. "Guys you can come out now," Cody said. "She's gone." A second later Blazen and Phantom crawled out from underneath Cody's bed before changing back into their human forms.

"Wow," Blazen said. "I can actually see the floor under Cody's bed."

Zack shot him another look before the four of them walked out into the suite. "Look," Zack said to his guardian. "Just help us out so we can get outta here quicker."

Cody on the other hand was speechless once they walked into the living room. There were crumbs and pieces of potato chips all over by the couch as well as several empty bags sitting on the counter. Near the bags were several dirty dishes. Zack's clothes from the day before were also sprawled out on the floor by the couch. "How is it possible for one person to do all this?" Cody asked himself, stunned. "Oh yea, it's Zack." With a groan and a deep sigh, he, his brother, and their guardians after some further protest got to work.

-----

"So tell me," Core said, drumming his fingers on his desk. "Have either of you found a way to obtain a mythical item yet?" He looked at Kagenui and Ruliyan as the pace of his drumming continued to increase.

"N-no Master Core," Kagenui said.

"Do you really think this 'Stone of Time' exists?" Ruliyan added.

"Are you questioning me Kagenui?" Core asked in a quiet tone.

"N-n-no sir," Ruliyan answered, backing off. "I was just wondering because we can't find any real leads to it."

Core sighed mockingly. "It's fairly convenient for both of you that you have me around." He opened his lab top and clicked a couple of items on the screen before turning it to show to Kagenui and Ruliyan. "Read," Core commanded.

Ruliyan and Kagenui leaned closer to the screen to read what it said. "Of all the ages..." Ruliyan muttered as he began to read. After reading the passage he looked up. "I've seen that before," he said. "But it doesn't tell us where to find it or how to find it."

A smile formed across Core's face. "Keep reading," he commanded again.

Ruliyan shifted his eyes from Core back to the screen. His eyes widened as he continued to read before he looked up Core again. "So we just follow this and we'll find it?"

"Exactly," Core said. "The conditions of the markings in the shrine are unreadable, so I've had several contacts working on deciphering them. That ending part was what they were able to come up with." Core turned the computer back around again so he was looking at the screen. He opened a different folder and clicked another icon. A few seconds later, he printed the file and it slid out from a printer near his desk. "Here," Core continued, handing Kagenui and Ruliyan the paper. "I figured the two of you would be clueless so I found this for you, and recently received a good copy that you can use."

Kagenui glanced over Ruliyan's shoulder as also attempted to look at the paper Ruliyan was holding, which turned out to be a map. Core also printed out the written instructions and handed them to Kagenui. "Now go, and don't fail me. Take Koto, Caos, and Rilian with you. I'm sure the five of you can handle this simple task."

"Simple?" Kagenui asked raising his eyebrow.

"What was that?" Core asked, staring at Kagenui.

"N-Nothing sir," Kagenui said as he turned around.

"That's what I thought," Core said before he closed his lab top and turned towards the window, staring off in thought.

-----

"Hey guys," Crystal said when she opened the door to see Zack and Cody. Blazen and Phantom had shrunk back to their little bird form and sat perched on their respective master's shoulder.

"Hey Crystal," Cody said, straightening himself up and smiling slightly. "Sorry we're late."

"What took you so long?" She asked, shutting the door behind them.

"We had to clean up the mess Zack made back home," Cody said with a look at his brother. "Thank you Zack."

Zack chuckled nervously before quickly changing the subject. "So Crystal, how have the tests been going?"

Crystal sighed. "Ok I guess," she replied. "I'm the only one he's tested so far." She finished as she led the twins downstairs to her dad's lab.

She looked back and noticed Cody had a somewhat distant look in his eyes. Sighing softly to herself, she turned around as Zack continued to walk downstairs. "What's wrong Cody?" Crystal asked, facing.

Cody immediately straightened up and tried to clear his face. "I-i-its nothing," Cody stammered out. "I just have a lot on my mind lately."

She looked at him. "Like what?"

Cody shifted uncomfortably in his spot. He promised Rafael that he wouldn't say anything, but at the moment he wanted to tell her everything. He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to figure out something. _Well, I won't be breaking my promise if I ask her about something she already knows about. _Cody thought to himself. He gulped before looking at her again. "So Crystal what do you think about what happened the other day?" He asked in a somewhat shaky voice.

"What about it?" Crystal asked curiously.

"Well with your whole episode and-"

"Cody, I didn't do it," Crystal said, cutting him off with a somewhat defensive tone. "I told you guys that already."

"I know you didn't. You would never do something like that. But that's just it," Cody said, talking faster and faster. "Why am I the only one that seems to be seeing people I know doing these robberies? First it was Rikku, then Zack, then you..." His voice fell silent as he thought about all that had happened. He remembered what he had seen, and what Alan had said about the future, causing a chill to run down his back. "Look Crystal, I-I just don't want to see anything happen to you."

Crystal smiled. "Don't worry Cody, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." She looked into his concerned eyes. "Thanks for the thought though, I appreciate it. Really, I do." With that, she slapped him playfully on the shoulder and continued to walk down to the lab.

Sighing to himself, Cody silently followed, as his age old question ran through his mind. Did she think of him the way he thought about her, or was he still just some funny little kid to her? "Hey Crys-" he began, but stopped his question when he saw her open the door to her dad's lab.

"Yea?" Crystal replied.

"Nothing," Cody said with another sigh.

"Ok," Crystal said.

Cody walked past her and glanced around the room. Rafael sat in the corner as if he was deep in thought. His arms were crossed across his chest as he stared as Christian preformed his latest test on Zack. Aaron sat innocently in the corner while Sydney sat next to Christian, typing on his lab top as he observed. Patrick and Noah were shooting attacks at a target that Christian had set up to measure their speed and power.

"Not bad guys," Christian said, glancing over. "Now Zack I want you to conjure a flame for me," Christian said turning his attention back to Zack. Zack did as he was told as a bright ball of flames formed in his hand. Christian stuck a sensor in it before he wrote something down. "Ok that's fine," Christian said and Zack made the fireball disappear. He motioned and muttered to Sydney who made some more notes on his lab top.

"Ok Zack, now jump," Christian said.

Zack looked at him funny. "Why?"

Rikku, who looked over from the treadmill she and Rumiku were on, rolled her eyes. "Just do it." She grumbled. Zack sighed as he did what he was told and Christian wrote something else down.

"Ok that's it Zack, at least for now, Cody you're next."

Cody nodded as he began to walk over but he was intercepted by Rafael. "Actually Christian, I need Cody for something; he'll be back in a little while." Somewhat surprised, Cody looked up at Rafael before nodding to Christian.

Christian signed. "Ok, don't take too long."

"Ok," Rafael replied as he led Cody out of the room. Once they were outside, Cody turned and faced him.

"What's up Rafael?" Cody asked.

"It's about the Stone of Time," Rafael said. "I've thought more about what you said, and I talked with Sydney and Aaron, we think you might be onto something."

Cody looked at him, scanning his eyes. "R-really? So Core has it then?" He asked, a tone of concern in his voice.

"I don't think he has it yet," Rafael replied. "And I want to keep it that way. So you, Sydney, Aaron, and I are going to get it before he can obtain it."

Cody looked thoughtful for a moment. "That should prevent any of these robberies from ever happening right?"

"That's my theory," Rafael said. "You have to be really careful when you play with time. That's why the time element was sealed away, so no one else could mess with it. If Core is after it, it puts us all in danger, he can basically make anything he wants happen." Rafael took a breath before he continued, as Cody continued to listen intently. Sydney and Aaron are our best bets to find it before Core does. They should be able to provide us with enough clues that the two of us can go find it."

Cody nodded his understanding.

"Also if Core does have it in the future, we can prevent that too. So let me ask you this again, are you in?"

A determined look crossed Cody's face. "Definitely," he replied. "So when are we leaving?" Cody asked.

"Tonight."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Ok Cody," Christian said. "Now I want you to make this water do a loop and put it back in the cup." Christian set a glass of water down in front of Cody before hooking a couple of wires up to him. He placed one wire on each side of Cody's head on each of his temples. Next he sat down by a monitor that was also hooked up to the wires before motioning Cody to go ahead. Sydney also looked on with interest.

Cody sighed as he raised his hand and concentrated on the water in the glass. On Cody's command, the water leapt out of the glass, made a circle, and fell back into it. All the while, Christian and Sydney stared at various lines and numbers on the computer screen.

A moment later, Sydney looked over at Rikku and Rumiku. "Ok, you two are done," he said glancing at his watch. Both Rikku and Rumiku nodded as each hit a button on their treadmill to stop them. Next each stepped off and grabbed a towel which they used to wipe the sweat off their faces.

"Interesting," Christian said as he scribbled something down.

Cody looked over. "What's up?" He asked curiously.

Christian looked back and forth between the computer screen and Cody. Sydney also looked over, slightly wide-eyed. "Well Cody," Christian said finally. "Your powers are definitely developing, quite quickly."

Cody looked at him. "So what does it mean?" Cody asked. Crystal walked over a moment later. Cody smiled slightly at her before he turned his attention back to Christian.

Christian shook his head. "I won't know for sure until I do some more tests," Christian said.

"So what else is new?" Crystal asked in a sarcastic voice.

Christian stuck his tongue out at her before continuing to explain his finding to Cody. "But it would seem there's a large reservoir of power within you that you are just starting to tap into." Christian said as he set the clipboard down on a nearby table. After a quick breath, he also turned the computer off before grabbing a chair and sitting down next to Cody.

Cody looked at him. "R-really?" He asked. He already knew that he and Zack were the most powerful elementals of their time, he just was never really sure of exactly how powerful he was. Crystal also looked at Christian, interested in what he had to say.

"But there is a small problem," Christian continued. Cody looked at him, his eyes scanning Christian's. Christian took another deep breath as he continued. "I'm not extremely sure, but if your powers continue to develop at this rate, they may become very hard to control until you learn how to handle them. Basically there may be times when you attacks may be either a lot more forceful or a lot weaker until you are completely able to control your full power."

Cody nodded his understanding. He looked down at his hands as he clenched them into fists. Thinking back to when he found Mike and Rikku, his attack against Damien had been a lot more forceful than he had expected. Also he had never been able to heal someone before like he did to Rikku just before they headed back. He just hadn't thought into it too deeply because of the situation.

"Also Cody," Christian continued. Cody looked over at him. "I'm not saying you're not because I know you're very mature for your age, but you have to be extra careful until you learn to fully control these new powers."

Cody's eyes twisted slightly. "Why?"

"Because again even though you're very mature, you're still a teenager," Christian said. "So basically what I am saying is don't bite off more than you can chew, even if you think you can handle the situation."

Cody scanned his eyes before nodding again. "Ok, I got it," Cody replied.

-----

Outside Wingz Corp, there a suddenly flash of light, which quickly faded away soon afterward, leaving a man standing, looking at the building. The man smiled slightly to himself before passing through the barrier that surrounded the building, something that only a member of Wingz Corp could do. After deactivating a few alarms, the man proceeded to walk up stairs. "What a mess," he muttered to himself as a small smile formed. Soon he came to a room with a balcony that allowed him to peer into Core's office.

For the next few moments, the man watched Core, amused as it seemed like he was yelling at his associates. "Soon," the man muttered. "You will have nothing to worry about." The man chuckled evilly to himself before taking a sky-blue gem out of his pocket. The gem glowed brightly with a white aura, and moment later, the man vanished.

-----

"Hey Cody," Rafael said, catching the blond boy's attention as he walked out of Christian's lab. Cody nodded to Christian and Crystal who had followed him out before heading over to Rafael, who was leaning against the wall by the stairs. "Syd and Aaron should be able to locate the stone by the time we leave so hopefully this won't take too long."

Cody nodded. "It's good that Japan's time zone is behind the one here, so at least it will be day there. But you sure you don't want to bring anyone else?"

"I gave it some thought, but the fewer the number the better," Rafael said. "For the same reason as the other night, only one of you and Zack should go. I'm sure Wingz Corp is after the stone also, and we can't risk both of you getting captured if things go wrong. "

"What about Rikku, Rumiku, or Crystal?" Cody said, shifting uncomfortably in his spot. "Don't you think we will need their help?"

Rafael shook his head. "Again I don't want to worry them about something we don't know about. I'm gonna be honest though Cody, I really wish they could help us, we definitely need all the help we can get" Rafael said before he let out a sigh. "But, since they're the ones you've been seeing, it would be too dangerous. If you're right about Core having the stone of time, all three have to be kept safe. I talked with Julius about it also, he agrees.

Cody's eyes shifted until he realized where Rafael was going with his point. "I get it, if their future forms meet their past selves...and get into a battle."

Rafael nodded. "The results could be disastrous, not only for them, but for everyone. Basically worst case, all of time could be affected.

"Wow," Cody said, half speechless.

"I didn't think of it before, but if that was Crystal's future self that she brushed into," Rafael said. "It could have been much worse than it was."

Cody nodded his answer as he continued to scan Rafael's eyes for a further explanation.

"Again time is something not to be meddled with," Rafael added. "That's why the element of time was sealed away. It's too powerful for anyone to handle, let alone handle it responsibly. Basically all of existence lies in that person's hands. One slip up," Rafael snapped his fingers, "and that's it for everyone."

"Game over basically," Cody said.

"Basically," Rafael repeated.

Cody nodded his agreement, this was going to be a lot tougher than he thought, but if there was someone who knew what he was doing, it was Rafael. If both he and Julius had determined it as the best course of action, then it probably was. "Actually, as far as travel time goes, Mike can probably help us there," Cody said. "He can teleport us there and back." Cody sighed. "Unfortunately though, his ego could be a problem."

"I saw that already," Rafael said with a sigh. "But we haveta get to the stone before Core does." With that, Rafael and Cody headed up to Sydney's room.

Rafael knocked lightly on the door before he opened it. Sydney sat crossed-legged on his bed with his lab top in his lap. Aaron also sat nearby in a meditating position, his eyes were opened halfway and glowing bright white. "Since Aaron is an elemental prince he should be able to provide us with some clues to the stone's whereabouts."

Sydney also looked up. "Here Raf-san, I think this can help you also," Sydney turned his lab top around so Rafael and Cody could see. "I was able to hack into Wingz Corp's computer and pulled this up."

"How'd you do that?" Cody asked half consciously as he leaned for a better look at whatever was loading on Sydney's screen.

Sydney grinned mischievously, "Did you really just ask that?" Sydney said, smiling. He looked at Cody with innocent eyes as his smile grew.

"You never cease to amaze me Syd," Cody said, returning the smile the best he could.

"I know," Sydney smiled as he closed the lab top and walked over to Aaron, who's eyes stopped glowing a moment later. "Able to pick anything up Aaron?" Sydney asked when he saw Aaron was done concentrating.

Aaron shook his head. "It's there, I can feel it," he said as he voice began to speed up. "But there isn't much time."

Rafael nodded as he turned to Cody. "Change in plans," he said. "Let's go, have Mike teleport you back to your suite so you can get ready. I'll meet you outside here in 15 minutes." Cody nodded as he turned to leave. As he headed downstairs, he thought about everything that had happened the past few days and despite his best efforts, couldn't shake the knot that continued to grow in his stomach.

Downstairs, Mike was sitting on the couch with Rumiku watching The Ring. Cody noticed both seemed pretty engrossed in the movie. "This part always gets me," Cody heard Mike mutter to Rumiku who shot a smile back. Cody turned and saw it was the scene where the evil girl climbed out of the TV to claim her latest victim. Cody shook his head, trying to shake the scene away. It had scared him the first time he'd seen it, and didn't need to be reminded of it.

"Hey Mike?" Cody said as he inched forward. Both Mike and Rumiku were still too occupied by the movie to hear him. "Mike?" Cody said louder as he put his hand on Mike's shoulder.

Letting out a yell, Mike jumped, startled by Cody, in turn causing Rumiku to jump. Both leapt up and spun around to face a now chuckling Cody. "Very funny," Mike said through heavy breaths as he tried to calm himself down.

Cody let out a small laugh, "Yea, yea," he said. "Look I gotta talk to you, got a few minutes?" Mike looked at him suspiciously.

"What's up?"

Cody sighed, "nothing much, I need your help with something." Next he turned to Rumiku, who had calmed herself down. "He'll be back in a few minutes, pause the movie." Rumiku nodded. Confused, Mike looked back and forth before he followed Cody towards the door.

"What's up?" Mike repeated.

"Can you teleport me back to my suite?" Cody asked. "I need to get a few things."

Mike looked at him again. "Uh, sure I guess," he said.

"Hold on you going back?" A voice said. Both Mike and Cody saw Zack approaching them.

"Oh no," Cody groaned to himself. How was he going to get around this one. "Yea," Cody said, taking a breath. "I'm gonna do some homework."

"It's Saturday!" Zack said. "Come on Cody, you serious?"

"I wanna get a good start on it," Cody said. "With all these tests lately I think I'm falling behind."

Zack sighed, "Whatever you say Codes. But I do wanna grab my new Mortal Kombat game so I can play Rikku in it."

"And get your butt handed to you," Cody added with a smile. "She's kicked your ass every time now, what makes you think this time will be any different?"

"Been practicing," Zack said. "And since you're not even a challenge, I figured I would play someone who matched me in skills and-"

"Whatever Zack," Cody said. Next he turned to Mike. "So can we get going?" He asked, a slight tone of anxiety in his voice, drawing a look from the other two. Mike shook his head as his eyes began to glow blue. All three of them then glowed white and a second later, were gone.

All three appeared in Zack and Cody's room. "I think you left your game by the TV," Cody said. Zack nodded before heading out of the room. Cody watched him leave before he quickly began to gather up things he thought he may need and shove them into his backpack.

"What's going on Cody?" Mike asked curiously, but his eyes held a look of concern.

"I don't have enough time to explain," Cody said. "But the short-hand version is that I think Wingz Corp is after the Stone of Time, and we have to stop them." Mike opened his mouth to talk but Cody cut him off. "Rafael will explain more when we get back, but don't say anything till he fills you in ok?"

Mike sighed. "Sure, whatever."

A moment later, Zack walked back in as Cody finished zipping up his backpack. "You know what Zack," Cody said. "You're right, I'm gonna go back. I can do my homework tomorrow."

Zack's jaw dropped. "Ok who are you?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "Very funny Zack."

"No seriously," Zack said. "Who are you and what have you done with Cody?"

"Let's just go," Cody said, motioning to Mike.

"One minute, this is getting entertaining," Mike said as he watched the two brothers.

Cody formed a sarcastic, half smile. "Can we just go?"

"As you wish," Mike replied, his eyes glowing again.

Once they were back at Crystal's, Zack hurried off to try to find Rikku. "He's never gonna learn," Cody said shaking his head. "Anyway, here comes Rafael, he'll explain it to you." Cody motioned to Rafael as he approached, who then went on to explain his and Cody's theory to Mike.

"So basically Cody," Mike said. "You think that Wingz Corp is the reason for everything that's gone on lately?" Cody nodded.

"Anyway," Rafael said. "Time is short, so can you help us."

Mike smiled as he cocked his head. "Sure, I've been bored lately anyway. Beating Wingz Corp sounds like fun."

"Uh huh," was all Rafael said as once again Mike teleported them to where Rafael said.

The three kids appeared again near a ridge in Japan overlooking a deep valley. Cody shuddered when he saw how close they were to the drop. "Nice aim," he said to Mike.

"Hey, gimme a break," Mike replied, through a few deeper breaths. "It's a lot harder when I have no idea where I'm going."

"Are you ok?" Rafael asked, looking over.

"Fine," Mike replied. "That one just took a little more than I thought. Plus I've been teleporting quite a bit lately, it gets kinda tiring."

"I'd think so," Rafael replied. "Which is why you're going back now."

Mike snapped up. "What?"

"Go back and tell the others where we are and that we'll be back as soon as we can." Rafael answered, handing him a short scroll.

"You can't be serious," Mike said, crossing his arms. Rafael shoved the scroll into Mike's hand which he reluctantly took a second later.

"Someone has to let the others know in case we need help," Rafael said sternly. "Besides, I can tell you're pretty drained, you wouldn't be able to fight in this condition anyway."

"But-" Mike protested.

"Go," Rafael said. He ran two fingers over a marking on the scroll. "If we need help or if things go really bad, that will flash red and send out sparks. But whatever you do, do not let Rikku, Rumiku, or Crystal come with you."

"Why?" Mike asked.

"You'll learn that when we get back," Rafael said in a 'that's final' tone. Mike gave him one last pleading look but it was to no avail. A second later, Mike teleported himself back to Crystal's house.

"What took you?" Rumiku asked Mike as he appeared on the couch. She noticed the sweat on his forehead and increased breathing rate. She stared into his eyes, demanding to know right away.

"Just something with Cody and Rafael," Mike replied. Rumiku then noticed the scroll in his hand.

"That's Rafael's signal scroll," Rumiku muttered to herself. Next she looked at Mike. "Where are they?"

Mike shook his head as his eyes glowed blue and he raised his hand. A blue aura formed around the remote, which a second later, flew to his hand. He then hit the play button to start the movie again.

"Mike, where are they?" Rumiku asked again.

Mike sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said, sliding his arm over her shoulder and turning his attention towards the movie.

-----

"How much further?" Koto asked in a disgruntled voice.

"According to this," Kagenui replied, looking down at the map then up at the trail ahead, "the old shrine should be just over this next ridge. This place is hard enough to find as it is, why'd they need to hide the friggin thing?" He said the last part under his breath so he was the only one that heard it.

"Bingo," Ruliyan said a moment later as he pointed to an old stone shrine that caught his attention. He glanced at the map in Kagenui's hand. "That's it."

The shrine had several stones arranged in front of an old wood and stone structure with a traditional Japanese roof. The entrance was bridged over both the actual shrine structure and a nearby cave. Kagenui, Ruliyan, Koto, Caos, and Rilian walked into the structure first to find an empty room with several markings on the wall. "According to this, somewhere in here is a secret entrance to the passage to the stone," Kagenui said. "It doesn't say though if it's in here or in that cave."

"I'll take Koto and Caos," Ruliyan said. "Let us know what you find." With that, Ruliyan, Koto, and Caos left the room and headed into the cave.

"Look at these markings," Koto said, looking at the carvings on the side of the cave.

"If you read them carefully," Ruliyan said. "They tell the whole story of the Elemental War fought centuries ago."

"Yea, yea," Koto replied. "I don't really need a history lesson, thanks."

Caos continued to follow the markings. "These one's look like they got messed up really bad," Caos said he moved closer for a better look. All the while he wasn't aware of where he was stepping as his attention was stuck on the ancient markings. As he inched closer to the wall, he stepped on a circular marking on the ground while simultaneously touching the markings on the wall.

A second later, there was a low rumbling sound. "What'd you do?" Koto snapped, scanning all over for the cause of the sound. Next the wall on the opposite side began to tumble down, revealing an opening to another passageway.

"Jackpot," Caos muttered.

-----

"You feel that?" Cody said, stopping in his tracks as he felt the earth shake.

"What?" Rafael asked.

Cody sighed. "Nothing," he said. A moment later, he saw what seemed to be an old Japanese shrine on the side of the mountain. "Hey Raf, is that it?"

Rafael looked over. "Yea, that's the shrine I visited. So according to this, somewhere there's a secret entrance."

"Great," Cody muttered. His mood didn't improve when he noticed there were two entrances, one to a stone and wooden structure, the other to a nearby cave.

"Well one good thing is," Rafael said. "We only have to search one of them," he motioned towards the two entrances. "I've been through that shrine all ready, it was where ancient elemental ceremonies were preformed. So the entrance has to be in that cave.

Nearing the shrine, Cody suddenly shivered violently as a vision filled his head. He was kneeling on the ground next to someone identical to him inside the shrine. Suddenly he looked up as war drums filled his hears before all was encompassed by a bright light.

"Cody?" Rafael said.

Cody snapped back to reality. "What was that?" Cody asked.

"What?"

"I think I just had a vision, or a flashback, or something," Cody said, looking around to get his bearings. "I was kneeling in that shrine," he pointed to the shrine in front of them. "Zack was next to me, I heard war drums, in the distance at first, but then they drew closer. That's it." He looked at Rafael, searching for an explanation.

Rafael sighed. "Well, you are the re-incarnate of the original Water elemental," Rafael said. "Maybe seeing the shrine triggered a memory from that life."

"Maybe," Cody said. "But I'll worry about that later."

"Good idea," Rafael replied as he led Cody into the cave. He stopped when he noticed the newly formed passage. "That wasn't there last time..." Rafael muttered to himself, he glanced down at the paper Sydney had printed for him. "Which means, we aren't the only ones here."

Cody's eyes widened. "So we gotta move...now." With that he and Rafael quickly but carefully proceeded down the passage.

* * *

**Please Read and Review**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"I'm not going to ask again! Where did the go?" Rumiku demanded as she held a glowing hand above Mike's face. She had her free hand around Mike's neck and was pressing him into the couch cushions.

"Remind me not to get you mad again," Mike said with an eye roll as he tried to push her hand away from his neck. "Are you on steroids or something?" He demanded once he wasn't able to move her hand.

"Ru, what in the world are you doing?" Julius demanded as he and Patrick came into the room. Patrick leaned over the back of the couch and grinned.

"They're getting freaky, Julius," he said with a laugh. Julius whirled around on his little brother and stopped in mid laugh. "I mean...the look in her eye is freaky." Julius held his stare. "I should leave now?" Julius nodded. "Bye." Patrick ran away as Julius faced Rumiku again.

"Get off him, Ru," Julius ordered.

"He won't tell me where Raf-san went," Rumiku replied without moving away from Mike.

"I'm going around telling everyone the deal, just get off him before you break his neck!" Rumiku held his gaze before letting go of Mike's neck and he immediately started massaging it. "Rafael and Cody went to Japan, to try and stop Wingz Corp from getting the Stone of Time."

"I'm going after them," Rumiku declared.

"No you're not," Julius said in a firm tone as he shook his head. "You're staying here. Rafael's orders. You wouldn't know what you're getting yourself into."

"Do we ever?" Rumiku asked with a grunt. "Seriously, we always charge into things and we always come out on top."

"One day we might not," Julius muttered before turning around to go up the stairs. He followed Zack's cries of anguish to find him, Rikku, Crystal, Ryan, Alan and Aaron sitting in the designated game room. Rikku was casually tossed the control from palm to palm as Zack stared at the screen in shock. Crystal and Aaron were sitting on the couch, staring at the screen. Aaron was looking in the direction of the screen but his eyes weren't focused on anything.

"Where's Rafael and Cody?" Rikku asked without looking at Julius. Her question instantly grabbed Zack's attention and he was on high alert.

"What makes you think I know where they are?" Julius questioned as he leaned in the doorway.

"The fact that you never denied or confirmed her answer," Alan spoke up from his place in the room where he was absent mindedly biting his pinkie nail.

"Are you sure you're not just reading his mind?" Ryan asked him. Alan let out a small smile as Ryan laughed and punched him in the arm. "Where are they?"

"Japan. They're trying to stop Wingz Corp from getting the Stone of Time," Aaron spoke up in a quiet voice.

"How come you never said anything?" Crystal asked him.

"I was asked to keep quiet about it," he replied. "From you, mainly," he added in a tiny voice. "Not just from you," he quickly added, "but from Rikku and Rumiku too."

"Why are we always the ones being singled out?" Rikku asked in an offended tone. "I mean, Ru and I were the strongest ones before they came and involved themselves in all of this," she continued as she glared at Zack as if he had personally offended her. "Why are we always being shoved onto the sidelines like a bunch of little kids?"

"What're you getting mad at me for?" Zack demanded as he threw down his controller and glared at her, instantly taking her up on her challenge. "I didn't ask for my life to become this complicated! I didn't bring myself into this! I just wanted to help you guys with whatever was going on! So don't get mad at me when, really, all of this is _your_ fault!"

"_My_ fault?" Rikku demanded as her eyes flashed, signaling that she wasn't ready to back down from that challenge, that he had only provoked her.

"Yes, _your_ fault! If you never moved here in the first place none of this would've happened!" Zack shouted as he kept his eyes locked on her. Rikku scowled as she brought her fist up. Zack flinched, waiting for her to hit him. She let out a breath and dropped her hand before turning to stomp out of the room. Julius jumped out of the way, into the room. She slammed the door so hard that the door popped back open.

"Your turn or mine?" Crystal asked as she looked over at Ryan.

"I'll go this time," he replied before getting up to leave the room. He followed Rikku's angry rants down the hall to her room of the house. She was pacing, tossing curse words out of her mouth with every step that she took. Each time she clenched her hand into a fist it would turn into a flame but then it would disappear as soon as it appeared. "Careful, you're going to burn a hole into the floor," Ryan commented.

"Zack's a bastard," Rikku growled as she whirled around to face Ryan. "He doesn't understand what he's gotten himself into. He thinks he can handle everything but he _can't_! He thinks he knows everything about our lives but he _doesn't_. He hasn't had to get through anything we had to, not even close! He just..._doesn't get it_!"

"I understand that, Rikk, but that doesn't mean you can lose your cool over it," Ryan said as he watched her. "That's what causes..."

"I _know_ what it does, Cooper! You don't have to remind me!" Rikku snapped at him.

"Don't be mad at me, I'm just trying to stop a disaster. I don't think Christian curse proofed the house yet," Ryan said, trying to make a joke. Rikku's eyes softened a little bit but the look of fury never left her face. "You know the reason why you guys are being restricted," he continued as he hesitantly took a step towards her, then another. "Zack and Cody may be the most powerful Elementals but you and Ru have seem a lot more than they have and been through a lot more than they have and came out stronger than before. They don't have to deal with a dark side to their power."

"What're you getting at?" Rikku demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest. Ryan grabbed her elbows and closed the gap between the two before kissing her. Rikku stood stiffly before relaxing slightly when he pulled away.

"I'm saying that I believe you're stronger than Zack and Cody put together because of what you've been through and what you have to continue to deal with."

"If you think kissing me is going to persuade me into choosing you over Zack, it's not going to work," Rikku stated.

"What? No, that's not what I was-" Ryan started but Rikku stopped him by holding up a hand.

"Go," she said as she pointed in the doorway. Ryan didn't protest as he spun on his heel and left the room.

"Rejected again, Cooper?" Zack asked from his position in leaning against the wall by the doorway of her room.

"Shut up, Martin!" Ryan called over his shoulder.

Back in the game room Alan was rolling up the abandoned game controllers when he grabbed his head and let out a hiss of pain. "Are you ok, Alan?" Crystal asked in alarm.

"Yeah, don't worry, it's just a little headache," he replied as he turned to give her a smile.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "Dad said our powers are being enhanced so...it could be trying to tell you something."

"Yes, I'm sure. My headaches haven't shown me anything before," he replied with a shrug as he put the games back on the shelf. He suddenly froze with his arm in mid air as his eyes trained on something in the distance and his mouth fell open.

"Alan?" Aaron questioned, suddenly aware that something was wrong. "Alan?"

"Alan? C'mon man, what's goin' on?" Crystal asked as she dropped to his side. He slowly lowered his arms as his green eyes seemed to glow brighter. He blinked and his eyes returned to normal before he looked at Crystal. "What'd you see?"

"Cody in Japan and there was a lot of destruction," Alan replied.

"Was he ok?" Aaron asked from the couch.

"I don't know," Alan admitted. "I focused on the destruction more than anything. I couldn't control it."

"Destruction in Japan can only mean one thing..." Crystal muttered.

"Wingz Corp," they announced in unison.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The full moon showed brightly, lighting up the night sky as I stealthily made my way through the deserted streets of Boston. With the exception of the stars that dotted the sky, it was my only source of light. This was a good thing…finally something was going our way. I knew what the penalty was for being out here at this hour, but I also knew they would have to find and catch me first.

Slowly, I crept forward, my stomach in a huge knot. "I've gotta find her before its too late," I muttered. I knew time was running out. I continued to increase my pace as I bolted across an alleyway. Next I crept up to a corner and peered around it to make sure the coast was clear. Suddenly I felt like there was someone behind me. I could feel my heart and breathing rates accelerate as sweat began to drip down my forehead. I spun around, but no one was there. Confused, I quickly looked back and forth; swing my eyes from side to side. Funny, I could have sworn there was someone there. My eyes continued their scan back and forth, seeing nothing but a dark empty street.

Finally my breathing rate began to settle as I turned around again. My eyes meet another face, just barely a few feet away from mine, causing me to jump back, startled. A feeling of relief washed over me when I recognized who I was facing. "Phantom?" I asked, confused.

"Master Cody, what are you doing here?" Phantom said in a sincere tone. His eyes stared directly into mine, piercing through me. I've never seen him like this before. "This place isn't safe, especially for you."

"I know," I said, my voice showing my fear. "I'm just really worried. I have to help her."

Phantom shook his head. "Go back, we'll figure this out. There's nothing you can do right now and we can't afford to lose you too."

"I can't just wait any longer…" I said, anger beginning to surge through me. I was done sitting around. I clenched my hands into a two tight fists as I faced Phantom again. "I can't! I WON'T!" Suddenly I hear laughter ringing through the street. It was a cold, evil laugh. The moon shown brighter and brighter, as the laugh grew louder and louder. I covered my eyes as all was whited out, then all went dark…

I screamed as pain burned through my body over and over. I tried to free my hands, but they were bound together to the wall.

"Now it's your turn," I heard Koto say with a chuckle.

I slowly opened my eyes and through a veil of pain looked across the room, Crystal was also bound but unlike me she also had several wires hooked up to her. Suddenly she let out a scream.

"CRYSTAL!" I yelled. "LET HER GO!"

Next she looked up, her eyes glared at me angrily. "Cody, how could you do this?" She said in a pain filled voice.

"Crystal!" I yelled. "It wasn't my fault! Please you gotta believe me!"

"Whatever," she said as she looked down a defeated look in her eyes as Koto approached.

I shook and wiggled with all my strength, trying to free myself. I had to help her. I just had to! "NO! CRYSTAL!"

Suddenly I felt a pain in my stomach. I grunted loudly, as I looked up. Standing in front of me was an identical copy of me, except his eyes were different. One was deep blue the other, deep green, and each held a cold empty hole for a pupil. "Now…let's have some fun," the clone of me said.

"CODY HOW COULD YOU?" The yell rang out across the room and stung my ears. I opened my mouth to answer, but another wave of pain suddenly struck my body, cutting my words off as I screamed out again. It was the worst pain I had ever felt, worse than any I could have possibly imagined. I screamed and writhed, all to no avail.

Then I heard Crystal scream loudly in pain again. Halfway through, she fell silent however. Shock filled my body…I knew what that probably meant. "NOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled…

---

Mike gasped as he sat up so suddenly that he fell to the floor with a loud thud, causing Ryan and Alan to shoot awake as well. He looked at them as they fell to the floor and hit their heads, groaning in unison.

"What in the world is your problem?" Alan demanded as he glared at Mike. "Do you want to wake the entire house?"

"I had a bad dream, so sue me," Mike grumbled as he glared at Alan.

"'I had a bad dream'," he repeated in a little kid voice as he made a face, which caused Alan to laugh.

"_What_ is your problem, dude?" Mike demanded as he stood over Alan. "You've been on my case since you've gotten here and I haven't even done _anything_ to you!"

"You've been nothing but obnoxious, not only to my friends, but to me too. You've even more obnoxious than _him_!" He jerked his thumb in Ryan's direction. "I won't stand for that."

A slow grin spread on Mike's face. "It seems to me that you're only mad at me because I'm dating Ru. She told me that you two dated before, but get over it. You two broke up for a reason, right? So don't take it out on me."

"Stop," Crystal commanded from the stair as Alan brought up his fist. "The last thing we need in this house is more fighting, especially with Rafael and Cody gone. What if they need us but you two have been beaten to a blood pulp? If you want to fight, I'd prefer that you do it _after _we know what's going on and we can deal with it."

"Fine," they growled in unison.

"Besides, I need to talk to Mike so I suggest you two take your showers now before everyone else wakes up and it becomes and all out brawl," Crystal said as she tilted her head towards the stairs. Ryan and Alan took her cue and ran up the stairs, fighting each other for the bathroom.

"What is it?" Mike asked warily as he pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache.

"I need you to teleport me to Japan," she replied as his eyes flew open.

"I can't do that," he said as he shook his head. "I have orders from Rafael. I can't let you, Rikku, and Ru go to Japan."

"Why won't he let us go?" Crystal demanded.

"He said something about the past and meeting up with your future and destruction or something like that," Mike said with a shrug. "Either way, I can't let you go." He took a step back when he saw her cold, hard stare. "Stop looking at me like that, you're starting to freak me out." Mike flinched. "Ok! Ok! I'll take you! But what about your Dad?"

"Dad will think I went to school early," Crystal replied.

"And Aaron?"

"I think he knew that I was going to do this anyway." She shrugged. "So hurry up and teleport us."

"Ok, ok." _'Sorry, Raf.'_

---

"Cody," Rafael suddenly stopped walking.

"What?" Cody asked as he whipped his head around.

"We have company," he replied as he tensed. Soon enough footsteps reached his ears; rapid footsteps that seemed to have them surrounded. Cody clenched his hand into a fist, ready to shoot a strong current at whoever was coming.

"It's about time I found you," Crystal commented as she came around the corner.

"What are you doing here?" Cody demanded. "You were supposed to stay back at the house."

"I didn't want to be there," Crystal replied as she avoided his gaze.

"It doesn't matter if you wanted to be there or not. You _had_ to stay there. This is a life or death situation, Crys."

"I've been in life or death situations before and I could handle it then. Let me stay, please," she begged, which was unlike her. Cody studied her face before turning to Rafael.

"What do you think?" He asked.

Rafael sighed. "I think she should have listened to me, but we're too far out from the city for her to get a flight back home so she has to stay." He rested his eyes on her. "But do as I say when I say it. Got it?"

"Don't start acting like Julius and treating me like a kid," Crystal growled. Rafael chuckled before looking back down the tunnel.

"Come quietly."

Rafael led the way down the dark tunnel. He held a scroll flat on his palm and a flame flickered on the top to give them light. He kept a free hand on the wall so he knew if there was a tunnel curving off in a different direction.

"You shouldn't have come," Cody whispered.

"Well, I'm here now, get over it," Crystal whispered back.

"You don't understand what you've gotten yourself into," he hissed.

"Do we ever know what we've gotten ourselves into? All we do is jump into battles not know what the outcome could be," she pointed out.

"But still–"

"Stop!" Rafael shouted suddenly, his voice echoing down the hall. "Someone's coming."

Cody listened and heard rapid footsteps once more, more rapid than Crystal's footsteps. Cody quickly conjured his sword and swung it around, causing it to connect with Koto's outstretched claws.

"Ahh, Male Water, long time no see," Caos commented as he and Ruliyan stepped forward, as if stepping out of the shadows. "And Ice and Chaos are here too. I hope you enjoyed your time here because it's going to be your last." Suddenly Koto started chuckling and they all looked at him.

"You said time," Koto explained. "And we're looking for the…" he stopped when Caos's look got more incredulous. "Never mind." Koto coughed. "Let's just get this over with."

Ruylian lunged forward and knocked Crystal into the wall, holding her up by her neck he started landing punches on her. She tried to shove him off of her but he was stronger than she was and easily tossed her to the other side of the tunnel.

Cody waved his arms and let a powerful current of water ram Ruylian into the wall before he fell down. He held his hands out in front of him and curled his fingers slightly. Suddelny a strong gust of wind blew down the tunnel and knocked Koto and Caos off their feet before they could touch Rafael.

The wind died down as Cody lowered his hands but it came back with stronger force, making him slide a couple inches across the dirt.

"What the hell!?" Caos cried out when he was flung off his feet by another gust of wind. Cody grabbed onto a rock nearby and held onto it as the wind got stronger and stronger, a whistling sound reached his ears.

"What's going on?" Koto yelled over the noise.

"Cody! It's your power!" Rafael shouted as he stabbed his sword into the ground to keep himself from moving. "Your power has gotten stronger! This is what Christian was talking about!"

"WHOA!" Koto shouted as he was flung off his feet and he crashed into Ruylian, causing them both to fall onto the ground.

Rafael grabbed Crystal around the waist when she started to slide deeper into the tunnel. "Cody! Make it stop!" Rafael yelled.

"I…I can't!" Cody gasped.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Cody concentrated as hard as he could. Sweat poured down his face as desperately clung to the rock. Try as he might, his powers would not settle down, and continued to intensify.

"CODY!" Rafael yelled again.

"I'M TRYING!" Cody called back. "NOTHING'S WORKING!"

"We'd better get outta here before he collapses the whole passage!" Koto called over the rushing air to his comrades. Also straining, he tried to hold his ground but was constantly being pushed back.

Caos clenched his teeth as he found a rock to jam his foot against. Straining, he eventually was able to get to a standing position. His hair fluttered in the wind, as he looked at Cody. Tears from the fast moving air around him streamed down the sides and off the back of his face. "Damn, we knew that kid was strong, but this is ridiculous!"

Ruliyan nodded his agreement as he also desperately hung on.

Cody continued to strain, the large amount of power constantly flowing through him taking its toll on his body. Straining to hold on, he fell to one knee. His hair was soaked with sweat and continued to slap against his face. "Come on, come on..." Cody said to himself, his powers still refusing to stop.

Still holding onto Rafael, Crystal looked over at Cody. Her eyes widened. "Cody!" she said, a feeling of worry filling her. She tried to let go to get to him, but Rafael held fast to her arm. "We have to help him!"

"Just wait a few more seconds," Rafael said, he tried to reach into his pocket, but the rushing wind made this very difficult.

"Come on," Cody said as he kept trying to concentrate on his powers. There had to be a way to stop them...there just had to be! Straining hard, he screamed "STOP!" at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly to everyone's surprise, the wind died and silence filled the passageway. Sure the danger had passed, Crystal rushed over to Cody, who was holding his chest and breathing very heavily. "Cody, are you ok?" Crystal said in a very concerned tone.

Cody didn't answer as he continued to try to catch his breath. He shook his head. He felt extremely drained. It was almost like he didn't have any strength at all. He clutched onto Crystal for support. Christian had been right; his power had gotten completely out of control. Opening his eyes slightly, Cody noticed a faint blue glow forming around each of his hands. The glow constantly appeared and disappeared. "No..." Cody said silently. "What now...please just stop...please."

Koto, Caos, and Ruliyan also realized that the danger had passed. "Whew, glad that's over," Koto said cracking a smile.

Caos shot a look at him. "And you wanted to retreat." He looked back over at Crystal and Cody. "So Water, you have gotten stronger."

"Maybe," Ruliyan said. "But it would seem to me he can't even control his element."

"So we'd better take it," Koto said, smiling again. "You might hurt yourself...and that is even worse than when we're done with you." The three of them prepared for battle again.

"And we can't have that," Caos finished. "Now can we?"

Crystal looked from Cody over to Koto, Caos, and Ruliyan. Cody definitely wouldn't be able to fight in this condition. Her eyes flashed down at him, he was starting to recover, but was still obviously very tired. Rafael saw this as well and brandished his sword, ready for battle. Crystal eyed him before returning her eyes to their attackers, each of whom was now smiling as they approached and readied themselves to strike.

Suddenly, there was a low rumbling noise that stopped everyone in their tracks. Everyone with the exception of Cody looked around, trying to figure out if the passage was about to collapse or not. "What the hell?" Koto muttered.

"What now?" Caos muttered as he scanned the passage around him.

Looking past the three of them, Crystal's eyes widened at what she saw next. "Run!" She breathed, motioning to Rafael. Quickly she helped Cody up and braced him on her shoulder.

Rafael also saw what she was looking at as his eyes began to widen. Rushing at the group of kids from behind Koto, Caos, and Ruliyan was a torrent of raging water.

"You should be scared..." Ruliyan said with a smile, until he realized that Rafael and Crystal weren't looking at him. "What the...?" He began but fell silent as he looked over his shoulder at whatever the other kids were looking at. His eyes widened as he saw the river of water rushing at them.

Caos and Koto also looked back. "Uh...can we run now?" Koto asked, gulping. Caos nodded.

Realizing their escape was cut off by the large wave that was quickly approaching them, all the kids quickly took off in the opposite direction in a futile attempt to outrun the water. In a matter of seconds, the water caught up with all of them and swept each one under...

------

"Hey, any of you guys seen Crystal around?" Sydney asked as he poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms before reaching for the milk carton. "I haven't seen her all morning."

"Nope," Rikku said.

"Neither have I," Rumiku said. She then looked at her twin. Both seemed to notice the weirdness of their answers since all three girls shared the same room.

"I saw her earlier," Ryan said, flashing his eyes at Rikku, who rolled hers.

"Yea, same here," Alan added. "Then she apparently had to talk to Mike about something, and I haven't seen her since."

"About what?" Zack asked looking up from his own cereal and toast, hoping his answer would somehow involve some good news about Cody. As much as he didn't want to show it, he was worried about Cody since he would have no idea of how Cody's mission turned out until Cody got back. The sickening feeling that Cody was in trouble that had formed in his stomach didn't help the situation.

Alan shook his head and sighed. "No idea, but I that was the last I saw her."

"So then I guess you know where she is?" Rikku asked, rounding on Mike, who had remained silent until then.

"Why do you always look at me?" Mike said with a sigh, which then turned into a smile."But yea I do know where she is, but I can't say."

Rikku's eyes flashed. "If you say that one more time...." She said, clenching her fist.

Aaron slowly moved his head back and forth from Rikku to Mike and back again. "He's right, he cannot say because the two of you," he motioned to Rikku and Rumiku, "would get upset. But he does know where she is, and so do I. This was something she had to do."

Rumiku looked at him. "What do you mean we'd get upset, unless..." then she pieced it together. "She's in Japan right now isn't she?" Aaron nodded his response.

"What?" Ryan said, dropping his spoon, cause his own breakfast to splash around him.

"That's what it was," Alan said, also looking at Mike. "She wanted you to teleport her to Japan." Mike nodded. "Why would you do that?"

"She seemed to know what she was doing and wouldn't leave me alone until I did," Mike said. "But I think it's a good thing, at least Cody and Rafael have some back up."

"So why can't we go?" Rikku said, anger filling her voice. "So you're going to teleport the rest of us there right now."

"Look, that's not up to me," Mike said defensively.

"Besides," Aaron added. "Rafael hasn't made him bring her back, so he must have a good reason to keep her there."

Mike opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by something else. The signal scroll that Rafael had given him floated by itself to the middle of the table and began to flash bright red sparks.

Both Rikku and Rumiku looked at this before flashing their eyes at Mike. "You're teleporting us to Japan, right now," Rikku ordered.

"Sorry, no can do," Mike replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Both Rafael's and Julius's orders."

"Look," Rikku said. "I've had it up to here with your ego...you are going to do this...right now."

"No," Mike replied.

"That's right," Julius said. Everyone looked over to see him walk in, followed by Christian. "The two of you are not going to Japan, and that's final."

"Then just tell me," Rumiku said, trying to keep her anger down. "Why does Crystal get to go?"

"She doesn't," Christian said.

"Oh really?" Rikku asked. "Because she's there right now."

"What?" Julius and Christian said in unison.

"He teleported her there," Alan said, motioning to Mike.

"Mike," Julius said. "Did you?"

"She made me," Mike replied. "But Rafael didn't make me go back and get her, so it's ok with him I guess."

"It's not ok," Julius said. "You two listen carefully." He looked into Rikku and Rumiku's eyes to make sure they were paying full attention. "None of the three of you can be involved in any part of this until we can make sure the stone is safe. The reason is all of existence rides on you staying here."

"What do you mean?" Rumiku asked. "That all of existence rides on us."

"We cannot risk any of you encountering your future selves. If that happens, the consequences could be outright disaster for everyone." Julius continued. "If you get into a battle with or have the wrong thing happen by meeting your future self, all of existence WILL BE destroyed. Everything...gone...in the blink of an eye." He snapped his fingers to emphasize his point.

"Why?" Ryan asked curiously. Zack also shared the same blank look.

Christian sighed. "Look Ryan, if there's one thing we should never mess with, its time. Let's say one of you gets into a battle with your future self and your future self kills you or something. Well since you have to be alive in order for them to exist, there's the problem."

"So wouldn't they just disappear or something?" Mike asked. "Like in that one movie?"

"It's not that simple," Christian said, shaking his head. "Because throughout the time that would have passed between their past and future selves, there would be an unprecedented number of events that could never have happened. Time basically comes apart, kinda like a frayed piece of rope falling apart...wiping out all of existence in the process."

"Wow," Mike said, his eyes wide. Next he looked at Rumiku and Rikku. "You're staying right here." Each made a face at him.

"So you're going back to Japan, and bringing Crystal back here right now," Julius commanded Mike.

"Uh guys," Sydney said, drawing attention to him. "Sorry to interrupt, but Rafael's scroll is still flashing." Everyone looked at the middle of the table and saw the flashing red sparks continue to pour out of the scroll.

"Uh, yea," Julius said scratching the back of his head. "I was going to get to that. Mike, teleport yourself, Ryan and Alan to Japan. Leave the two of them there, but bring Crystal back here."

"Why can't I go?" Zack said, speaking up. "Cody's my brother, if he's in trouble I have to help him."

Julius shook his head. "Zack, you can't because you and Cody are the most powerful, we can't risk losing both of you."

"But-"

"I'm sorry Zack," Christian said. "But that's final."

Pouting, Zack crossed his arms over his chest and slumped into his chair.

Mike got up and walked over to Ryan and Alan. "Ready?" He asked.

"Hold on," Aaron said. "Let me come too." Everyone else looked at him. "I can detect where they are so you can get there quicker. I'm pretty sure they've moved since the last time you were there." Mike looked over at Julius and Christian for an answer, both of whom nodded slightly.

"Ok, let's go," Mike said. Ryan and Alan nodded their response as Mike's eyes began to glow blue. A half second later they all glowed white and disappeared.

-----

It took nearly all the kids strength to keep themselves from slamming into the various rocks in the tunnel as well as the tunnel walls. Crystal fought to get herself and Cody to the surface, but Cody's extra weight made this already difficult task even harder. Finally Crystal was able to stick her mouth above the surface and take in a gulp of air. Acting quickly however, she had to duck back under the splashing surface to prevent her head from slamming into a low part of the passageway ceiling. Next she felt herself being pushed down hard by the wave that had crashed into the low ceiling.

"Cody!" Crystal mouthed when the force of the wave caused her to lose her grip on the boy. She fought against the current as she watched his body sink, tumbling away in the current. She fought to try to reach him and was almost there, when another unexpected surprise hit her. Suddenly the current changed direction, and began flowing downward. Letting out a low scream, Crystal yelled as she felt herself free-falling down into darkness.

Finally Crystal hit a pool at the bottom and plunged below the surface. Kicking and fighting finally she was outside the waterfall, and treading water as she took a look at their surroundings. She was in another cavern, which was filled with a light blue glow. Although everything in the room was blue, there was enough light for her to see and make out her surroundings. About one hundred feet away was a shoreline that extended, making up the floor of most of the cavern. Towards the back, was a large hill, with a staircase on the side of it. On top of the hill was a shrine from which seemed to be the source of the blue glow that filled the room.

Crystal's mind however quickly turned back its previous concern after she saw Rafael pop up above the surface nearby...Cody was nowhere to be found.

* * *

**Please Read and Review**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Whoa, that's a long way down," Ryan said as the kids appeared in Japan next to the canyon near the shrine that held the stone of time.

"Save it," Mike said through a few deep breaths. "I've already heard it twice, once by Cody, the other time by Crystal." He stood up and ran his hand through his hair. "And I really don't wanna hear it again."

Alan raised an eyebrow. "Right," he said. "Pretty funny though that both of them would yell at you about the same thing. Think you would have improved your aim more each time."

"Yea, yea," Mike said. "You're here in one piece aren't you? Anyway, again, it's scary, it's like those two were destined for each other or something. I mean seriously, it was the same riot act each time." Ryan and Alan rolled their eyes.

Aaron however, seemed to grow more impatient each second. "Guys, can we just get going? Something's not right."

"Yea, it's why we're here," Ryan replied.

Aaron scowled under his breath. "I KNOW THAT!" he snapped, drawing a look from all three teenagers. "But I can also sense that we don't have much time left. Wingz Corp is close to the stone. So if you two don't mind, I think we should get to it before they wipe out existence as we know it."

"Or entirely," Alan muttered.

"So we understand each other?" Aaron replied. "Let's go."

Mike stared at him for an extra second. "Dang little dude," he said cracking a smile.

"He can sense both theirs and the stone's presence, so be quiet," Alan muttered in a firm voice to Mike. "Plus he probably can sense that Crystal's in trouble and wants to help her before it's too late. So be quiet and listen to him."

"R-Right," Mike muttered as he turned to follow them towards the shrine. As they got closer, his eyes hopped between the two shrine entrances. "Ook," he muttered. "So which one is it?"

Aaron's sightless eyes looked up as concentration fell over his face. "The one cut from the earth," he said before shaking his head. "Is there a cave entrance there?"

Alan nodded. "Yea, there's a shrine with a cave next to it. The cave has a traditional Japanese entrance over it."

"They're in there," Aaron replied. "And so is the stone."

"So let's go then," Alan said before looking at Mike. "What now?"

Mike shifted the look of confusion off his face. "It's scary how he can do that. Pretty cool, just scary."

"Yea it is," Alan said, rolling his eyes.

"So why would they make two entrances?" Ryan asked, his blank eyes still staring at the shrine.

"To confuse you," Aaron said. "Can we just get going?" He began to walk in the general direction of the shrine. The three teenagers soon followed and caught up to him.

-----

"Cody? CODY?!" Crystal yelled twisting her head side to side as her eyes desperately scanned for some sign of Cody. "You see him?" Crystal called over to Rafael. Rafael shook his head as he also scanned the water. "Oh no," Crystal muttered almost breathless. "CODY!"

"I don't see him anywhere," Rafael said, looking for him also. "Cody?" He also called out, his voice chorusing with Crystal.

Looking down again, Crystal saw a faint shadow growing smaller below her. It had to be Cody! It just had to be! Crystal thought desperately. Without another word, she took in a gulp of air before diving below the surface. Her eyes scanned the dark depths below her as she continued to kick forward with all her might.

"Come on Cody," Crystal said. Her eyes were fixed on the shadow below her. It seemed like it was playing with her. The faster she swam towards it, the quicker it seemed to fall away. After and extra burst of energy, Crystal began to gain on it and could make out the shadow's outline. It was Cody. "Please Cody, just hold on..." she thought.

Crystal's lungs began to burn as she pushed forward; telling her it was time to return to the surface. Ignoring the burning pain with her chest however, she continued to press on. If she went back now, Cody would drown...if he hadn't already, but if it took her much longer to get to him, she would drown too. Within a few seconds however, Crystal was able to see the seemingly lifeless look on Cody's face as a small stream of bubbles escaped from his mouth.

"No." Crystal thought to herself. "Cody, don't die on me now! You better hold on just a couple more seconds!" She reached out as she continued to kick with all her remaining strength, desperately hoping to catch the boy before it was too late...

-Cody POV-

_Pain...endless pain. My body burned, like every bone in my body was on fire. It was worse than any pain I've ever felt...worse than any I could have possibly imagined. I scream in agony. But it seemed every scream brought more pain...the more I cried out, the worse my body hurt._

_Finally, the pain stops....I breathe heavily, my eyes squeezed shut. I look up, I can barely see forward. "You little fool..." A cold voice says. "There's nothing you can do to stop me."_

"_Please...stop..." A look of anger crosses my face as I force the words up out through my vocal cords. It is a strained effort as my body is still reeling from the amount of pain I just suffered. Every inch of me still hurts. "I won't let you do this..."_

"_Watch me," The voice responds. All at once more pain surges through me. The feeling is excruciating. I twist, wiggle, trying to escape, but it's useless. Slowly my strength is sapped away. I can hear him laughing as he continued to enjoy the very thought of torturing me. Finally he stops again...I know the brief relief is only temporary as he prepares to do it again._

"_If...you...destroy me..." I force the words out. "You will die too. Everyone will."_

"_I won't kill you just yet..." the voice responds, filled with malice._

"_You...can't...do this..."_

_He smiles. "Of course I can. You forget...it all depends...on the right...time..."_

-Normal POV-

Cody's body continued to sink as Crystal fought for each inch towards him. Her vision became two faint tunnels as her fingertips barely scratched his shirt. After one more kick she held his shirt firmly in her grasp and with all she had left, desperately kicked towards the surface. The tunnel around her vision continued to narrow, but she wasn't going to give in...not when they were this close.

A moment later, Crystal's head broke the surface as she gulped in air. She coughed as she continued to suck in more air, strength returning to her. With Rafael's help, Crystal swam for the shoreline, carrying Cody the whole time. Finally, the three of them reached it. Crystal laid Cody down as she knelt near him, breathing heavily. Rafael glanced at Cody's chest before checking breathing. "He's not breathing." Rafael said, concerned.

"Come on Cody," Crystal said, shaking his motionless body. "Come on wake up...please..." She looked at Rafael. His eyes told her what she had to do. "Oh, no."

"It's our only chance," he responded. "On my count, give him two breaths, got it?

Crystal nodded nervously. It wasn't that she didn't want to save his life...in fact that thought couldn't be further from the truth. She just wondered what the look on his face would be if...no...he would wake up...he just had to! "All right," Crystal said.

"Now," Rafael commanded.

On Rafael's cue, Crystal lifted Cody's head back and pinched his nose before blowing two breaths into his body. Rafael followed with a set of chest compressions, trying to get Cody's heart started. He signaled Crystal again. Without hesitation, Crystal's lips met Cody's again as she blew two more breaths into his lungs.

A moment later, Cody's eyes began to move as he began to cough. He felt Crystal's lips leave his own, as a force surged through his throat. Crystal quickly backed off as a stream of water fell out of Cody's mouth. He jolted up as he continued cough, using his shaking arms for support. Crystal helped him stay up by holding his shoulders as Cody continued to cough and gasp for breath.

"Cody, thank God you're ok," Crystal said. Through several more heavy coughs, Cody nodded his acknowledgement.

"T-thanks..." Cody replied with a weak smile as his coughing slowed and his breathing returned to normal.

"That was close," Rafael said.

"Y-yea," Cody said. Some strength was once again flowing through him, but not much. He was still wiped out from the toll his powers had taken on his body. His eyes then met Crystal's; searching for the same answer he had before. He knew she hadn't actually "kissed" him, and was just trying to save his life, but something inside him still conflicted with this, especially since she had almost seemed hesitant to release his lips when he woke up.

"Where do you think all that water came from?" Crystal asked, catching his glance and deciding to quickly change the subject.

"Him," Rafael replied, motioning at Cody.

"Me?" Cody asked. Then he remembered his hands had glowed on and off shortly before all the water had come crashing down on them. But as powerful as he was, there was no way he could have conjured all that water, could he? There was just no way. His eyes searched Rafael for the rest of his explanation.

"Yes, you," Rafael said before taking in a deep breath. "I think I figured it out. Cody can't control wind, so something with his powers had to have caused that before the water came. Basically, his powered summoned all this water so fast, it was like a vacuum. That was the wind."

"And the torrent of water was it going back," Crystal said.

Cody was stunned. "Could I have really done all that?" He looked down, searching for an answer. "But...there's...I...it can't be."

"Cody," Rafael said. "It's like Christian said. Until you learn to control you powers, this could happen."

Cody slammed his fist down as anger began to fill him from Rafael's answer. "But why does this have to happen now? Ugh!" He pulled on his hair. "Wingz Corp is about to take over time and I can't even fight without worrying about my own powers!"

"Cody, it will pass," Crystal said comfortingly. "You just have to be careful."

"Anyway," Rafael said as a smile formed across his face. "I think you found the stone."

"What?" Cody looked up at him.

"Look up there," Rafael motioned towards the shrine on top of the large hill. "That has to be it." With that, the three teens made their way over.

-----

Further down the shore, Koto, Caos, and Ruliyan pulled themselves onto the shoreline, each coughing.

"Let's just hope we don't have to do that again," Koto said, cracking a smile.

"Just shut up," Caos snapped. Next he looked up and saw the glow coming from a shrine on top of a large hill. "That's gotta be it!" He said. The three of them rushed forward before nearly colliding with Rafael, Cody and Crystal.

"So, you three survived too," Ruliyan sneered. "Too bad it was just to die just a little while later."

Caos smiled evilly at Cody. "But then again, with another attack like that, he'll do all of our work for us. It's sad; the most powerful elemental can't even save his friends from dying. Of course that's because he'll just kill them himself."

"Well," Koto said. "Makes my job easier."

Anger surged through Cody. "Shut up!" He snapped, drawing looks from everyone else as he dropped into a fighting stance.

"Whoa, so the nice twin does have some fight," Caos continued. "I'm sure he'll put on a good show, but we got bigger fish to fry." Koto began giggling again, drawing another look from Caos. "What now?!" Caos growled, obviously beginning to lose his temper.

Koto straightened up. "Well, his element is water, and you said fish to fry and..." Caos shot him a look that told him to shut up.

"Déjà vu," Ruliyan muttered to himself as he cracked a smile. "But let's laugh after we take care of this little problem."

"You never seem to learn do you," Crystal said as she and Rafael sank into a fighting stance. Cody did also but was shoved off by Rafael.

"Go get the stone," Rafael muttered to him. "You can't fight in this condition, and there's no telling what your power will do this time." Cody looked at him before nodding his answer and slowly creeping back.

"Aw, look at that, he's running away," Koto said as his nails and teeth grew.

"Let him go for now," Ruliyan said. "We'll take care of these two first."

"Bring it on," Rafael said.

Koto leapt at Crystal as Caos and Ruliyan double teamed Rafael. "Ice Storm!" Crystal yelled as she waved her hand and flung a bunch of ice crystals at Koto. Koto dodged them before aiming a blow at Crystal's face. She quickly blocked it before parrying another one of his attacks. Each attack seemed to come faster than the last. Crystal leapt back as Koto landed on his feet grinning evilly.

"You've gotten faster," Crystal said, glaring at him.

"That, and you've gotten slower," Koto replied. "You're tired aren't you?"

"Damn," Crystal muttered.

"Why waste your strength on a little nerd like him?" Koto asked, stepping forward. "Unless...you really care about him, don't you? Weird choice, but I guess its whatever."

"SHUT IT!" Crystal yelled as aimed a punch at Koto. He dodged it before kicking her in the stomach, causing her stumble back, holding her stomach. "Damn, he's fast." Looking over, she tried to see how Rafael was doing.

With two spell scrolls up, Rafael seemed to be holding his own well against Ruliyan and Caos' double team. Crystal almost gasped in awe at his speed and ability to keep up with both of their attacks. She knew part of this was due to the fact that both also had to be somewhat tired out from also fighting the current Cody had caused earlier. Her attention however was quickly diverted back to Koto as another attack came at her. His claws nicked her side, each causing a small stream of blood.

"Ah," Crystal said, grabbing her side. It was a minor wound, so she quickly turned her attention back to the fight. Then she noticed something...Koto was slowing down. Crystal smiled. "You're tired out aren't you? She chuckled as she repeated his question. "You just had an energy spurt to try to win as quickly as you could. I thought you knew better than that." She landed a punch to the side of his face, followed by a powerful roundhouse kick to his chest. Koto stumbled back, growling at her.

----

Cody's eyes scanned the hill for the fastest possible way up to the shrine. "There's gotta be some way," Cody muttered as his eyes fell on what looked to be a staircase leading up the side. Another look told him there was one on each side. To stay as inconspicuous as possible, Cody slipped over to one of the side stairways and began to climb. As he climbed, he glanced over at his friends, wanting more than anything to help them. But he also knew that Rafael was right, he had to get to the stone.

About halfway up, Cody began breathing heavily. He was still very tired, and the steepness of the stairs wasn't helping his situation. It seemed the higher he got, the steeper the steps were, making the climb more and more difficult. "I can't stop now," Cody told himself. "I have to get that stone." Sweating, the boy continued to trudge on.

Finally, about three quarters of the way, Cody fell to his knees, exhausted. It took a large amount of effort on his part not to tumble back down the stairway. Bracing himself, Cody gasped for breath, groaning in agony. His body refused to move. His arms shook as got to all fours, sweat streaming down his face. "I-I can't do it," Cody muttered in defeat to himself. He looked over at what seemed to be the valiant effort Rafael was putting up. "I'm sorry Rafael," Cody said, on the verge of crying. Despite how hard he tried, Cody couldn't force himself to go any further.

A moment later, however, Cody's eyes fell on Crystal. For the next few moments, she seemed to be winning against Koto. However, the tide soon looked to turn as Koto landed a powerful attack that Crystal was slow to get up from. "No..." Cody said. "Crystal!" He looked at the top of the stairs. He had to find the strength to keep going. She was counting on him. Everyone was.

Straining, Cody managed to pull himself up a few more steps. Sweat dripped down as his muscles burned. He didn't care. He had to get there, he just had to. Everyone was counting on him. Finally, reaching the last step, Cody collapsed. He was breathing very heavily as he curled up. He was so close, why couldn't he just pull himself the remaining distance? Was he that weak? Limbs shaking, Cody tried to pull himself onto all fours before collapsing again. His body didn't care that he was just mere feet away, he had to rest.

"So, did your little friend run home to his mommy?" Ruliyan snickered as he attacked Rafael again. Rafael just smiled as he parried the attack, backing up.

"Wait a minute...you're stalling!" Caos yelled. His eyes glanced up at Cody's form on the stairway. "You're keeping us busy so he can get the stone."

Rafael smiled. "Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"You!" Ruliyan flung another attack forward. Rafael parried it before replied with a counter attack. Next Rulyian motioned to Caos. "GET THE STONE!"

"What?" Caos asked.

"GET THE STONE!" Ruliyan repeated, almost shouting as he flung another attack at Rafael. Not needing to be told again, Caos broke off and bolted for shrine.

Rafael's eyes widened, the distraction knocking him off his rhythm. Ruliyan landed his next attack, knocking Rafael back into Crystal. Both fell over. Rafael realized Cody was almost out of time. "Cody come on, get it, quick."

-----

"They're down there," Aaron said as the three stood in the entrance of the cave.

"Well, well, well," a voice said behind them. Alan, Mike, and Ryan spun around to see themselves face to face with Kagenui and Rilian. "Looks like we have some party crashers on our hands."

"What are you doing here?" Alan said.

"Enjoying the sights," Rilian replied. "And it looks like we'll have a nice souvenir, your elements."

"Keep dreaming," Mike said, cocking his head. "You know you don't stand a chance."

"Really?" Rilian said.

"Mike," Alan muttered. "Go get the others, take Aaron, Ryan and I will handle them."

"But I want to kick their asses," Mike said.

"You're forgetting why you're even here," Alan snapped. "Just do what you're told for once!" With that, Alan shoved Aaron's hand into Mike's and shoved them back.

"Fine, but I get dibs when I get back," Mike said. With that he and Aaron disappeared into the cave.

Mike lit his weapon, using the glow for light. "Where are they?" He asked Aaron.

Concentrating Aaron felt his way until he found the passage in the cave. "This way," Aaron said. "And hurry, they're losing. Teleport us there!"

"You sure?" Mike said.

"Just do it!"

Sighing, Mike made a face. "Ok." With that, his eyes glowed blue a second after which, they glowed white and disappeared.

-----

Groaning, Cody rolled over and noticed a bright blue glow that filled his vision. In front of him was the entrance to the shrine, inside of which, the Stone of Time sat on table with an encryption written on the side of it. Crawling, Cody pulled his body forward, inching closer and closer to the table. He was so close. He reached up, the stone just barely beyond his grasp.

Suddenly, Cody screamed as an energy blast knocked him back against the wall of the shrine. Cody groaned again as his body slid down the shrine wall. He looked up and saw Caos smiling. "No touchy." He said smiling. "That stone is ours."

"I...can't let him...win," Cody said to himself. Using the wall for support he tried to stand. Caos noticed how tired Cody was and wasted no time, taking advantage of the situation. He flew forward and kicked Cody hard in the stomach. Coughing in pain, Cody collapsed again.

"You really think you could beat us?" Caos said, smiling down at the weakened boy. "Look boy, no matter how powerful you think you are, you don't stand a chance against us. Especially if you can't even control your own power." Turning Caos headed back towards the stone. Initially, his attempt to grab it was deflected by some invisible barrier.

"No!" Cody said, straining to get up again. He brought his hands back, concentrating, trying to summon a blast of water. "Cascade crush!" He called out.

Caos looked back, prepared to defend himself, but nothing happened. Cody flung his arms back again before bringing them forward, but nothing came out. Not even one drop.

"What?" Cody said to himself, stunned that his attack had produced no water at all.

Acting on the opportunity Caos kicked him again. Cody slammed into the table that held the stone. He curled up, coughing, before remembering where he was. Cody reach up, trying to get the stone, only to have his hand deflected by the barrier.

"So close," Caos mocked him as he picked the boy up. "Yet so far away." He flung Cody to the side before turning his attention back to the stone. Glancing down, he pulled out a copy of the encryptions that Ruliyan had given him before they left and read them. The barrier shined brightly before disappearing, leaving the stone lying on the table.

"NO!" Cody yelled as he saw Caos grab the stone before disappearing. Cody tried to leap up at him by fell down through the thin air on the empty table. Defeated, Cody laid there, his strength completely exhausted.

Rafael and Crystal also held a stunned look as they noticed that Ruliyan and Koto also disappeared. With the absence of the stone, darkness fell on the room. Rafael quickly solved this with a scroll but noticed that he and Crystal were the only ones down there. A moment later, a white glow also filled the room as Mike and Aaron appeared.

When she saw him Crystal hugged Aaron. "Aaron? What are you doing here?"

"You're going back to Christian's right now," Mike said. "Julius and Christian's orders."

"It doesn't matter now," Aaron said. "The stone is gone."

"What?" The group chorused.

"It's gone," Aaron repeated. "They have it."

"Mike, teleport up there, bring Cody back," Rafael said. Thinking back, he realized Caos must have gotten to the stone before Cody could."

Mike nodded. He teleported up into the shrine, where he saw Cody's body lying next to the table in its center. "Cody!" Mike said. He leaned down and picked the other boy up before teleporting back to Rafael, Crystal and Aaron.

"Let's get back," Rafael said. "We've gotta figure out what to do now. We haveta get the stone back and destroy it. All of existence rides on it."

"Ryan and Alan are at the entrance fighting Kagenui and Rilian," Mike said.

"Teleport us there, quickly!" Rafael said.

"You know, you could say 'please,' once in a while," Mike said with a smile before teleporting the group back to the cave entrance where they found Ryan and Alan standing. "At least they were when I left them," Mike finished.

"That was weird," Ryan said. "They just disappeared."

"It's because they have the stone," Rafael said grimly.

"What? How?" Alan said, worried about the stone, but then his eyes fell on Cody. "Is he ok?"

"He's just really tired," Crystal said. "He'll be fine soon."

"Maybe," Rafael said. With that he motioned to Mike who got the idea. Mike's eyes glowed and a second later, the defeated group was on its way back to Christians, not one of them knowing what exactly to tell the others.

* * *

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	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Zack sat on the couch staring out the window as he had done all morning. Something with Cody wasn't right. He could sense it and the knot in his stomach wasn't helping manners either. Every few seconds his eyes would hop across the living room, hoping they would get back, but to no avail. Patrick and Noah were sitting on the couch watching TV, while Sydney sat on the floor with his laptop. All three were engrossed in what they were doing, but were also on alert for any news on the others.

To help them pass the time, Christian offered Rikku and Rumiku to run their tests while they waited. Grudgingly, both agreed since they knew they had nothing better to do at that point but sit and wait. Each was still frustrated that they couldn't go to Japan, so Julius sat in the corner and oversaw the process to make sure they didn't try to slip away.

"Finally," Zack said when he saw a bright flash of white light appear in the middle of the living room. "Hey! They're back!" Zack called over his shoulder in the direction of Christian's lab. As the light faded, his eyes saw the solemn look on each of their faces. Zack was about to say something, but his voice broke as his eyes widened when he saw Cody hanging motionless on Mike and Crystal's shoulders. "CODY!" Zack breathed in a voice just barely above a whisper. Shock filled him, quickly followed by worry. Zack hoped and prayed that Cody was ok, his breaths deepening as he got closer.

"He's ok," Mike said. "Mostly..." The rest of the group brushed themselves off as Mike and Crystal carried Cody over to the couch and laid him down on it. Patrick turned off the TV as he and Noah got out of the way, both watching breathlessly.

Zack looked at him. "What do you mean mostly?" He asked, but he was ignored. Growling slightly, Zack faced his weakened brother. "CODY!" He said again, gently shook his little brother. Cody's eyes opening slightly. He saw Zack's concerned face and quickly twisted himself the other way so his face was buried in the cushions. He couldn't face his brother now; he couldn't face any of them. "Cody," Zack said again, stunned. His eyes searched the rest of the group for an explanation.

Sydney closed his lab top and got up. Sydney's eyes hopped to each of them, and almost instantly he knew something was very wrong. Before he could open his mouth, Julius, Rikku and Rumiku came up from the lab followed shortly by Christian.

"He needs to be healed," Rafael said to Julius, motioning at Cody.

Julius nodded as he walked over to Cody. "What happened to him?" Julius asked as he got ready.

Rafael looked around the room. "You'll find out soon enough," he muttered. Julius nodded as they waited for everyone to join them. His hands began to glow as he ran them over Cody's body. A moment later, Cody felt better, and felt his strength return. He was still very ashamed of and angry with himself, so he continued to lie down where he was and refused to look at the group.

"So," Christian began, looking from Cody to Rafael. "How'd it go?"

Rafael opened his mouth to answer. "Well, the shorthand of it is..." he began as he searched for words.

"Yea?" Rikku asked, really interested now. The others also looked on with a similar hunger, wanting to know what happened.

"We lost!" A voice suddenly came from the couch. Everyone looked at Cody as he twisted himself around. His eyes glistened as tears began to fall out of them and twist their way down his cheeks. "They have the stone because of me! I failed!"

"What do you mean?" Christian asked curiously.

"Caos beat me to the stone!" Cody snapped, tears began streaming down his cheeks. "Koto, Caos, and Ruliyan showed up, and then my powers got out of control. Rafael and Crystal were fighting them and I went to get the stone. Caos got to it before I could, because I was too weak from my own powers. Wingz Corp has it, time is doomed. Happy now?"

"Cody..." Zack said, gulping. He looked at his twin. Everyone else also looked on, trying to take in his words as well as the fact that he had just used such a cold, angry tone.

Rafael took a deep breath. "Cody, you were warned that your powers could get like that, so it wasn't your fault."

Christian also nodded. "Don't you remember what I told you?" Cody looked at him but didn't answer.

"What do you mean his powers got out of control?" Noah asked, looking up, Patrick did so also.

Christian took another breath. "Well we all know that Cody is one of the most powerful elementals of our time. Basically, as you guys know, his powers, just like with the rest of yours, are constantly developing. His though, are just very quickly, and with the rate his powers are developing, he may not always be able to control them."

"So Cody couldn't control his own power?" Ryan asked.

Rafael nodded. "Yes. His powers drained all his strength during the battle, but he still put up a valiant effort."

"It doesn't matter!" Cody said. "All I had to do was get the stone and I couldn't even do that! It's my fault they have the stone. It's over!"

"Not necessarily," Julius said, taking a breath. "Just because they have the stone doesn't mean we've lost just yet. But it does mean that everyone has to be extremely careful. No one should leave until we can sort out what we're going to do. Got that?" His eyes scanned all the younger kids to make sure they understood. He then shot a look at Christian and Rafael telling them that the conversation should end there until they were able to figure out what exactly their next move was. "Anyway, its lunchtime, who's hungry?"

After a chorus of "we are," Julius and Christian lead the group into the kitchen, leaving Cody behind. Zack saw that his brother was still sitting on the couch, and turned around.

"Come on Codes," Zack said to his brother, patting him on the back. "Time to eat." He pushed lightly on Cody's back, trying to coax him on.

"I'm not hungry," Cody shot back, crossing his arms over his chest. He pushed his body into the cushions.

Zack sighed as he sat down next to his brother. "Cody look," he said, "It wasn't your fault. You win some, you lose some. It's just how things are." Although he didn't admit it often, he hated to see Cody so angry with himself. It upset him to see Cody beat himself up like that.

"You don't get it Zack," Cody said, refusing to look at his brother. He just couldn't...he had let him down. He had let everyone down. Not only had Caos beat him, but his own powers had also. Rafael and Crystal had fought with all they could; all he had to do was just get the stone. _I couldn't even do that! _Cody thought angrily to himself. _Because of me, everyone will suffer. Crystal, mom, everyone in Boston...everybody._ His angry, glistening eyes finally met his brother's concerned ones. "It'll be my fault if Wingz Corp wipes everything out," Cody continued. "I couldn't even control my own powers. Everyone was counting on me, and I blew it."

"Hey come on buddy," Zack said, trying again. "I mess up all the time. But-"

"NOT LIKE THIS ZACK!" Cody snapped. He wiped his eyes but it was a useless effort, before punching the pillow. The tears wouldn't stop. He sniffled, breathing heavily. His lips trembled. "Core is going to enslave everyone, or destroy the world, or whatever. And it was my powers that allowed him to. "

"Tell me why you think it's your entire fault. What exactly happened?" Zack asked suddenly, forcing his brother to once again look at him.

For the next few seconds, Cody stayed silent. He didn't want to answer, but knew Zack would keep probing until he got the answer he wanted. Through his sobs, Cody told all the extra details he could of the story. He explained how his powers refused to obey him, then how Crystal had saved him. He told Zack about how he had collapsed several times on his way up to the stone, and then when he was just inches away, how Caos defeated him and took it. Zack listened the whole time intently.

"Cody," Zack said when his brother had finished. He put his arm around his brother's shoulder and hugged him. "You should be proud of the effort you were able to put up. You kept going, and didn't give up. I'm proud of you for it.

Cody shook his head. "It doesn't matter now."

"What matters is you didn't give up," Zack said suddenly, causing Cody's eyes to once again concentrate on his brother's. Zack held his hand firmly on Cody's shoulder as he continued. "No one holds you responsible for it, so don't hold yourself. We'll just haveta deal with getting the stone back from Core. Forgive and forget, that's my motto, remember?"

"It's not mine," Cody said, shaking his head. He jerked himself out of Zack's grip, got up, and walked out the door. Outside, Cody sat on the front porch steps, staring in the distance, the feeling of foreboding growing inside him, along with the knot his stomach.

----

"Why do you keep staring at me?" Mike asked Alan as he ate his sandwich.

Alan remained quiet for a few seconds, probing at Mike's mind. "What exactly was that dream about?" Alan asked.

Mike's eyes twisted. "Why do you care?" He asked curiously. "Earlier you didn't seem to care."

Alan sighed. "That was earlier," Alan replied coolly. "I've been thinking about something and want to see if I'm right."

Mike sighed. "It was pretty weird actually," Mike said. He went on to explain what he could remember from the dream. "Basically, it was like I was in Cody's body or something. I was seeing what he was."

Alan was thoughtful for a few minutes. Mike scanned his eyes.

"So what does it mean?"

"Nothing," Alan said shaking his head. "It's something I gotta run by Rafael and them. Don't worry about it."

Mike shrugged. "Whatever you say," he muttered.

Alan was about to retort when something outside caught all the kids attention, causing all of them to rush to the window. Suddenly, the world outside their house suddenly changed, like a cut in a movie scene. Although they could still see Boston through the window, it was much different. Now, there were several large military towers that appeared scattered around the city, each seeming to be armed with some kind of weapon. Also groups of people appeared that looked like they were patrolling, each with a large Wingz Corp symbol sewn on the back of their jackets.

"Uh guys..." Alan said, turning away from the window. "I think we have a problem."

* * *

**Please read and review**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Cody trembled as he watched the scene in front of him unfold. Everything was changing before his eyes. He backed into the shadows, trying to stay hidden as he tried to understand what was going on. He watched what looked like a patrol moving down the street, stepping in unison, expressionless faces.

"No way," he whispered, noticing the Wingz Corp symbol on the backs of their jackets as they moved further down the street. "No...way!"

"CODY!"

Cody cringed when he heard Zack's voice drifting out of the house. Cody jumped out of the bushes and ran towards the house.

"CO-mmph!" Zack's scream was cut off by Cody slapping his hand over Zack's mouth and slamming the door behind him.

"Are you stupid!?" Cody hissed.

"Look who you're asking," Ryan pointed out. Cody glared at him and Ryan bit his lip and avoided Cody's fierce gaze.

"Turn off the lights! Now!" Cody ordered. No one moved. "Are you _deaf_!? Turn off the lights!" He barked. Everyone started moving at once, running around to get the lights in the house turned off. They were honestly scared of Cody. He has never raised his voice at anyone before and he wasn't in control of his powers so he could easily cause them all to drown in the home.

"Why'd we turn off the lights?" Patrick asked in the darkness, the only light coming from the flame that hovered above Rikku's palm. They were all sitting in the basement which was the only room in the house without windows that was big enough to fit all of them.

"Did you not see Boston change into a war zone?" Noah questioned. "And those patrol people? I'm surprised they haven't found us with Zack's screaming."

"So sue me for being worried," Zack grumbled.

"I'm only younger than you by fifteen minutes. I'm not a baby," Cody told him.

"So what happened, Dad?" Crystal asked, looking at Christian.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I'm thinking it had to do with the Stone of Time," Christian responded. Everyone looked at him. "Think about it, since it's in the hands of Wingz Corp they can easily jump through time and change it if they want to."

"Wait...remember a few weeks ago when that bank was robbed? And we thought that it looked a lot like Rikku?" Cody asked, his face twisted as if he were piecing sentences together in his head as he spoke. "The Stone of Time, Rafael said something about being able to jump through time with it. What if that was the way we saw Rikku on the news? It was her from the future or something, brought back here by Wingz Corp to make us get in trouble with the law so we could be out of the way when he took it now?"

His response was silence before Mike spoke up. "So how is it we always figure things out _after_ it happens?" Glares were shot his way. "It was just a question," he mumbled, slumping against the wall as he looked at his nails.

"So what do we do now?" Aaron's small voice ripped through the dark.

"Mom!" Cody suddenly gasped. "Oh my gosh! What happened to Mom?" Zack's mouth fell open as he let the words sink in. Cody jumped to his feet. "I have to go see her! I have to know she's ok!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Julius replied, grabbing him and yanking him back down. "You don't know what those people can do to you and you wouldn't want to find out! Not now. We have to be one hindered percent sure what's going on here and what we can do to fix it."

"Duh, you have to get the Stone of Time back," Phantom commented, suddenly appearing on top of the treadmill in a rush of cool wind.

"You make it sound so easy," Crystal pointed out.

"It's easier said than done, actually," Phantom replied. "But what isn't. With the Stone of Time in Core's hands, he can do anything he wants with it. Say someone was getting ready to kill him by shooting a gun at him, he could go back in tie enough to avoid the whole confrontation all together."

"Wait...he can potentially change our past or future?" Patrick asked.

"He's changing your present as we speak," Phantom said with a sigh. "That's why the buildings have changed as well as the addition to the patrols. He had to have gone back in time to do that."

"Wait...Julius, you have every Element, right?" Crystal asked, turning to her cousin. His eyes turned half-lidded as he gave her a 'duh' look. "Any Elemental artifact has to have a little bit of power from an Elemental. So that must mean there is an Elemental out there that can change time, or travel through it or whatever. Does that mean you have that power too?"

Julius opened his mouth to respond but it was replaced with a look of thought. He placed his finger on his chin as he continued to think. "If I do I've never had a reason to use it," he admitted with a shrug.

"Oh yeah? What about that time you were going to ask Maddie to Prom and you-" Julius practically dove across the room to slap his hand over Sydney's mouth.

"Hey." Everyone turned to look at Alan who was glaring at Mike. Mike's eyes shifted under Alan's intense gaze. "You can teleport people different places. Can you teleport them to different time periods."

"If I could I would've done that years ago," he replied with an eye roll. "I'm not like you, I can't just teleport different places at will." He ignored the smirk that came to Rikku's face. "Do you know how long it will take for me to harness that power let alone have enough power to bring us back? No way, it's out of the question."

"Do you _want_ Core to take over the world?" Rikku demanded, unable to keep quiet.

"Do you _want_ to be stuck in, like, 500 B.C.?" Mike shot back.

"What's in 500 B.C.? Dinosaurs?" Patrick asked excitedly.

"No, but you'd have to learn a new language," Sydney responded in a somewhat dull tone as he picked at his nails. "Back to the topic at hand, I saw we wait out for Core."

"Are you nuts!?" Zack shouted, jumping to his feet. "What is wrong with you?" His question is directed towards the Hiroshimas in general. "You guys are all for going and doing whatever it takes to make sure no one is hurt and our secret is safe and stuff. Now you just want to sit around and wait for Core to come to us? He'd destroy half the human population by then!"

"Yes, but _some_ of us are on house arrest," Rhuben said, glaring at Christian who stuck out his tongue.

"It's for your own good," Christian responded.

"I have a good reason," Sydney continued, getting everyone's attention. "Knowing Core, wherever he goes, he's going to either have the Stone with him or use the power of the Stone to do whatever he wants. He's going to send the BlackWolves or whoever after us and they're also going to have the power of the Stone somehow, in case we beat them...like we always do."

"Basically, Sydney wants to wait for the Stone to come to us, that way we would have an idea about how to get the Stone and if we get the Stone in the middle of battle. The only thing is we have to be aware of the fact that we might be taken through time if we're touching anyone who wields the power," Aaron supplied.

"And here I thought trying to get Zack to chew with his mouth closed was a tough mission," Ryan muttered sarcastically.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Zack opened his mouth to retort but a loud banging on the front door stopped him in his tracks. It was as if everyone held their breath as they listened intently. Sydney began to shake as Julius tried to calm him down. Crystal pulled Aaron closer to her and held her hand over his mouth when he started making noises out of fear.

"Don't," she said when she noticed Christian starting to get up from his seat. He paused and looked at her to see that she was staring at him with hard eyes, as if challenging him.

"I have to. When you all are here you're my responsibility," he responded before getting up and slowly making his way up the stairs.

"Don't!" She said as she squeezed her eyes shut, resting her forehead on Aaron's head so they wouldn't hear the sudden flood of emotions that reached her voice. "Nothing good is going to come out of it if you open that door! Daddy, stay here!"

Everyone was shocked. No one has heard her speak like that towards anyway. Cody was the sensitive one of the group, Noah and Sydney rivaled his sensitivity, but Cody had them all beat when it came to expressing his emotions. Crystal was one that would show her emotions little bits at a time but usually kept to herself. Her being this vulnerable made everyone uncomfortable.

They could hear his footsteps move over their heads and they all held their breath. Rikku was tense, as if waiting for something to happen so she could bolt from the room. She listened intently as she heard the lock turn in the door and the door open. Suddenly there was a loud _bang_ and many footsteps were heard above their heads.

"_Daddy_!" Crystal shouted before anyone could stop her.

"Wait…I heard something."

"Where?"

"Down here."

They could hear the knob of the door jiggle.

"We gotta get out of here," Rikku said as she jumped to her feet.

"Mike," Rumiku gasped, turning her piercing gaze to him.

"I got it," he said as he palms started glowing. "I can't bring everybody though."

"I can take care of that," Julius said as his hands also started to glow. People scrambled to their feet and rushed over to either Mike or Julius. Crystal was the only one who stayed where she was. "Crys, come on!"

"Go without me. I have to get Dad," she said as she shook her head, glaring at the jiggling doorknob.

"Are you crazy? You don't know that those people could do to you," Alan pointed out. "You'd be safer coming with us."

"When are we ever safe, really?" She asked, turning to look at him. "We constantly have to hide from people. We constantly have to run away. You can go ahead and leave, but I'm not running away. Not this time."

"This isn't the time for you to be tenacious!"

"Hurry and make a choice. We can't wait much longer," Mike said through clenched teeth as the light that surrounded him got brighter and brighter.

Cody was torn. He wanted to stay and help her, knowing full well that her mind was made and that she wasn't going to change it. But he also knew to stay safe he had to leave the house with everyone else. He squeezed his eyes shut as the ping pong match of the pros and cons battled it out in his head. He felt a hand on his shoulder and automatically knew that it was Zack. It was his way of telling Cody that he supported whatever decision he was going to make.

"I…can't…" in a bright flash Mike, Patrick, Rikku, Rumiku, and Aaron were gone.

"Hurry!" Julius called.

"I'm staying," Crystal said in a firm tone.

Cody forced himself to take a step forward. "Me too," he declared. Crystal turned to look at him but quickly closed her eyes at the bright flash of light when everyone else disappeared.

"Why'd you stay?" She asked, turning away from him.

"You can't stay by yourself," he muttered, looking at the ground, suddenly hating himself for not being able to look at her. "You would've needed help."

"I'm not weak," Crystal all but growled.

Cody flinched at her tone. "I know…but I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if you were left alone and hurt."

Crystal opened her mouth to respond when a loud explosion rocked the house and knocked the off of their feet. Debris from the ceiling and rained down on the two teens. Cody covered his head to protect it from the falling debris. He could feel pain spread through his fingers as debris landed on his hands.

"What was…" Cody started.

"I hear voices. Someone's down here!"

"Come on!"

"Cody, over here!" Crystal said as she scrambled to her feet and ran across the room to the opposite wall where a bookshelf was.

"You want to run? I thought you said you wanted to help your Dad," Cody said as he followed her.

"Don't mock me!" She snapped, pushing at the bookshelf, causing it move over inch by inch each shove. "Don't just stand there, help me move this!"

Cody placed his hands on the side of the bookshelf and tried to help her move it as they heard stumbling footsteps start down the stairs as people fumbled through the darkness. He could see random circles of light hit the opposite wall and knew that it was only a matter of seconds before they were caught.

They finally pushed the bookshelf aside revealing a large door. Crystal quickly pressed some numbers on a dial and the door slid open to reveal a dirt tunnel. Crystal yanked Cody inside and pressed a button. Lights along the ceiling came on as the door slid shut with a metallic whine. They could hear the bookshelf moving back into place and muffled voices on the other side.

"I thought you said someone was down here!"

"I _heard_ someone! I know there are people down here!"

"Search the room!"

Crystal turned and ran down the lit hall, Cody following closely at her heels. "I thought you said–"

"I don't fancy being blown up either," Crystal interrupted him.

"Look," Cody grabbed her arm and stopped her from running, "I have to leave my Mom behind too. I know what you're going through, ok? I'd appreciate it if you stopped snapping at me when I haven't done anything to you."

Their heads shot up when dirt sprinkled down on them as a faint explosion was heard down the hall. Simultaneously they started running down the hall again, this time faster than they've ever run before. At the end was a ladder. Cody stood back and let her climb up it before following her. They climbed out and looked around. Cody noticed that they had gotten out on the other side of the fence surrounding the backyard.

"What do we do now?" Cody whispered.

"Try and find everyone else," Crystal responded. "But we can't be seen or heard."

-----

"Rikku you can let go of me now." Rikku bristled at the tone that was in Mike's voice. She slowly opened her eyes before they widened. They were standing on the beach. People were lying out on towels under umbrellas all around them. Kids were playing in the ocean, on the beach, or were running with kites in the air. Rikku glanced down at her hands and noticed that they clutched at Mike's arm tightly. She quickly let go of him and noticed the smirk on his lips. She punched him on the arm for good measure and looked around. "Where are we?"

"Hmmmm." Aaron bent over and picked up a handful of sand. "Feels different," he muttered to himself. He dropped it and sniffed the air. "Smells different." He placed his hand on the ground. "Moves different." He straightened back up. "We're in Australia."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Aaaaaah….oof!"

"_Get off me_!"

"Ow! You just hit my eye!"

"Get your foot out of my face!"

"Stop…arguing!" Julius shouted over the noise of the pile of bodies that landed on the ground. "And _get off me_!" He moved into a push up position and knocked everyone off of him. He rolled over and rubbed his throbbing, achy shin. He paused and slowly looked up and around him. His eyes narrowed as he glanced over at Rafael. "Raf…" was all he said.

Rafael looked up and around himself as well. While everyone else had worried looks on their faces the peaceful expression never left Rafael's. "We're in Japan," he finally spoke up.

"Are you sure?" Noah asked.

"I know my home when I see it."

"Sorry."

The group got to their feet and looked around. They recognized the shops and the buildings in the distance. They were indeed in Japan. Tokyo to be exact.

"Where's everyone else?" Sydney asked, looking around.

"They teleported somewhere else, obviously," Ryan told him.

"Why didn't they come here?" Sydney glanced up at Julius.

Julius reacted as if he had been accused of something. "How was I supposed to know that Mike was going to teleport then somewhere else? I was in panic mode and panic mode always tells me to take us somewhere where people won't find us in large crowds: Japan."

"Yes, but if they do try and find us they'll know that we're here since we've _lived here before_."

A sour look crossed Julius's face as he stepped closer to Sydney and glared down at him. "Don't make me come down there." Sydney stuck out his tongue.

"At least try and find out where everyone else is!" Noah interrupted them before they started fighting. He lifted his watch to his mouth. "Ru? Ru, you there?" He paused and listened. All they heard was static. He pushed a different button. "Rikk? Patrick? Aaron?" he dropped his wrist. "No answer. Alan you try."

Alan nodded and closed his eyes, holding the sides of his head in his hands as he let out a slow breath from his nose. His fingers clenched slightly as he concentrated. They could tell by the look on his face that he was trying to contact someone through their mind. His eyes opened by they were blank, which was a sign that he found someone.

"Ru. Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah," her voice seemed to fill their heads from every corner. "We're all fine. Where are you?"

"Japan. Where are you?"

"Australia."

"How'd you get to Australia?"

"Mike teleported us here. The idiot." Alan grinned. "How'd you get to Japan?"

"Julius's 'Panic Mode'," Alan responded.

"Wait. Are Crystal or Cody with you? We left before we could tell."

"No, they're not with us."

"…they must still be in Boston." She paused. "We have to go get them."

"That's not a good idea, Ru. If we go back they might capture us in the process. It's best if we stay put where we are."

"Core's not stupid. It's only a matter of time until they find us here."

"Stick to crowds. He's not dumb enough to make them fight you in crowds."

"You mean…"

"We're going to the beach!" They could hear Patrick cheer in the background. "Tell Noah I said hi. Tell him. Tell him."

"Get offa me!"

"Tell him!"

"No', Pat says high." Judging by her tone they could tell that she was rolling her eyes. "You guys are lucky."

"Why?" Alan asked.

"You can blend in easily there. Here we stick out like sore thumbs. Stay on the down low I guess. We'll chat again soon."

"Ok. Stay safe."

Alan lowered his hands slowly, as if moving underwater. He blinked and his eyes returned to the normal green shade. "Well, she's right. We're more protected here. There are more people in Japan than there are in Australia."

"Where do we go now?" Ryan asked. They all gave him a look before turning to look at Rafael who was all ready talking quietly on his cell phone.

He closed it with a _snap_ and turned to look at them. "Our flat is over here," he announced before leading the way through the busy streets.

"I thought you lived in that dojo castle thing," Ryan said as he ran to catch up.

"For one thing, a dojo is where you got to learn martial arts, especially of the _do_ variety. Where you are right we do live in a home that resembles a Japanese castle, we stay there everyone season but the summer. During the summer we come to our flat because we're closer to our jobs," Rafael explained over his shoulder. "You have to keep an eye on traffic unless you want to be killed."

The group weaved in and out of the traffic of Japan, which only got thicker as they got further into the city. Finally, Rafael led the group to a large building and ushered everyone inside. "What's with all the people?" Ryan asked.

"The bottom floor has offices for people," Rafael explained. "Our parents own the building, despite not being here a lot. Our flat is the next floor." He pressed a button on the elevator and ushered everyone inside. "No one usually used the elevator unless they're giving us mail or something else along those lines."

The elevator rose up before a ding was heard, signaling that they were on the second floor. Before the doors even opened all the way they could hear shouting on the other side. Rafael sighed.

"Kenshin! I said give it back!"

"Make me, shrimp!"

"Daisuke! Tetsudatte kuremasuka?" **(1)**

"Nani?"

"Tadaima," Rafael called over the noise. All other noise stopped before pounding footsteps were heard and two boys and three girls ran at him.

A chorus of "O-genki desu ka?" and "Ikaga desu ka?" was heard as Rafael was hugged.

"I just realized," Sydney suddenly spoke up causing Julius ot look at him, "His family is like ours, but reversed. Instead of having two little sisters and three little brothers he has two little brothers and three little sisters."

"Why do you think I became friends with him? He can help me deal with you squits," Julius responded in a teasing tone.

"Ara!" one of the girls' eyes lit up when she saw Sydney. "Kawaii!" She cooed before rushing over and hugging him. "You're still so cute, Syd-chan."

"You remember Daisuke, Kenshin, Yuuki, Yuri, and Yami," Rafael said as he pointed to each person.

"And _that's_ why I objected to Mom trying to name you guys something like that," Julius said to Noah and Sydney as Rafael rolled his eyes.

"What's brought you all here?" Daisuke asked, looking them over. "And looking like you've been beaten up by rocks."

"Long story short Core's cronies got the Stone of Time. They found out where we were hiding and we teleported away from them," Ryan explained as they all moved into the living room where there was a large couch with pillows in the center of it.

"He go the Stone?" The second youngest, Yami, asked with wide eyes. "That's impossible!" She slammed her fist down on the arm of the couch and the lights all went out. "Sorry," she apologized before clapping and the lights came back on.

"So I take it–" Ryan started.

"Yami gains powers from the Night, Yuri uses lilies or crystal lilies, Yuuki controls spirits of the dead, Kenshin gains powers from the Moon, and Daisuke gains powers from the Sun," Rafael rattled off the top of his head. "But that's not important. Yes, they got the stone. Cody used all his effort to stop them but his powers made him go out of control."

"That's not good," Kenshin muttered.

"No shit," Daisuke said with an eye roll. "The Stone of Time allows you to jump through time…so how come he didn't jump through time to stop you from coming here?"

"Because he wants us split up," Rafael responded. "He wants us split so we can't do anything to him while we're gone. He knows that it's easier to deal with us when we're split up rather than together."

"Zack, you've been quiet, is something on your mind?" Sydney asked Zack quietly, who was staring out the window at the skyline which was beginning to light up as the sun set.

"I'm worried about Cody," he responded. "I know I shouldn't, but his powers are getting out of control. If he gets too mad then…he could do anything…" He smiled at Sydney. "But I'm also glad that Cooper and I are here so he wouldn't have an unfair chance with Rikku."

Sydney sighed. "Why don't you two give up on her? I know Rikku like I know that back of my hand. If she hasn't given into any of your advances now, she won't later. It takes forever to break her shell."

"Yes, but I bet I'm the only one who can do it."

"Why're you so confident?"

"Because we both control fire, right? That's got to mean something. I mean, Cody's head over heels for Crystal and she controls ice, which is a form of water so they always fight together. Rikku usually fights by my side so it's like…we fit. Plus, she sent me a text saying where she was and Cooper would've announced it if she sent him one."

"Are you sure you're not going after her just so you can say that you dated her?"

Zack stayed silent.

"Just know that she's going to kill you when she finds out."

"You mean if."

"No, I mean _when_."

-------

Rikku flipped her phone open and shut as she stared out at the waves that rolled onto the beach. She and Rhuben managed to get a hotel suite for all of them. Aaron and Patrick were exploring the hotel while Mike and Rhuben were watching tv.

She was annoyed at them for not even trying to figure out what to do, but she couldn't blame the either. They couldn't do much. Knowing Core he was all ready looking for them. He probably knew what area they were in, but not exactly where they were located.

She glanced down when her phone rang, signaling a text.

**Zack: **R u sure noone's there?

**Rikku:** I'm sure. We chekd. We're not dum

**Zack:** I nvr said u were

**Zack:** We're with Raf's fam

**Zack:** They say hi

**Rikku:** No 'I miss u's from u?

**Rikku: **Somethin's up wit u

**Zack: **I was getting' there

**Zack:** :-)

**Rikku: **Whatever

**Zack: **U gotta say it back

**Rikku:** Y?

**Zack:** Common courtesy

**Rikku:** Havn't u heard? I don't follow common courtesy rules

**Zack:** I'll take that instead

**Zack:** The Clouds are takin' us out.

**Zack:** TTYL

**Rikku: **Later

"What'd Zack want?" Rumiku asked without looking away from the screen.

"They're safe in Japan. The Clouds are takin' them out. I'm guessing they feel safer in crowds," Rikku responded as she same back into the room. She made a face when she saw Mike's arm around Rumiku's shoulders.

"Jealous?" Mike asked, tilting his head back to look at her.

"Don't make me sick," she said with an eye roll before going back to her room and slamming the door shut. She flopped down on her bed and stared at her red LG phone. She quickly composed a text and sent it without stopping herself. A few minutes later she got a response.

**Zack:** I knew it. :-)


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The Clouds, Zack, Ryan, Alan, and the Hiroshimas that were with them approached a midsize building that had a traditional Japanese roof. The restaurant was labeled in Japanese symbols, so Zack, Ryan, and Alan couldn't make out what the letters meant. Each looked to Rafael for a translation to tell them where they were and what they were going to have for dinner.

"Best sushi in town," Rafael said to Zack and Ryan as the group walked up to the front door. "Trust me, there's none better."

"Sushi?" Zack said raising an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Fish," Rafael replied.

"Oh cool!" Zack said. "Fish fries are awesome!"

"Raw fish," Noah said, smiling. He chuckled when he saw Zack's face contort. "Yes, sushi is raw fish."

"What?" Zack said. Ryan smiled behind him drawing a look from Zack. "Yea Cooper, you should be happy. You're not the most disgusting thing in the world."

"It's actually really good," Rafael said, stepping in before Ryan had a chance to retort. "Besides," Rafael continued, lowering his voice and staring at both Ryan and Zack. "The LAST thing we need right now is you two causing a scene so get along. Or do you want Core to find us sooner?"

"He start-"

"Get along!" Rafael snapped, giving each another hard glare.

"O-ok," Zack said backing up. Ryan also nodded his compliance.

"That I can't wait to see," Noah whispered to Sydney. "Those two getting along for more than five minutes." Sydney covered his mouth, giggling.

"Not going to happen?" Yami asked Noah, whispering in his ear. Noah sighed his response as he shook his head and raised his hands up.

With that, the group walked inside and met their waiters. Inside were red walls, each lit with a traditional Japanese lantern. Paintings of the countryside and large pictures of Japanese characters were also located on each of the walls surrounding them. Once seated, Zack, Alan, and Ryan had to have Rafael or one of the other Clouds help translate the menus as well as their orders to the waiters. This caused some laughs by the Clouds and waiters since Zack, Ryan, and Alan had no idea what Rafael had told the waiters for them. After a smile, the waiter took their orders to the kitchen.

"Another reason for you guys to behave yourselves," Rafael said with a devious grin as he leaned towards Zack and Cody. "I'm the one putting your orders in."

"They're already in," Ryan said.

"True," Rafael replied. "But that doesn't mean my fun can end there."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say you don't wanna find out," Rafael replied, still grinning.

Throughout dinner, Rafael and the rest of the Clouds caught up with everything that had gone on for each lately. He and Julius explained to the rest of the Clouds where the kids stood with Core and the Stone of Time.

Throughout dinner, Zack had a distance look on his face and moved his food around with his fork more than he had eaten it. He was hungry enough, but he couldn't keep Cody out of his thoughts. He knew what Boston was like right now, and he knew that his little brother was somewhere inside it. What if Cody and Crystal were hiding somewhere fearing for their very lives? What if they had been captured and were being tortured until one told where the rest of their friends were, despite not knowing?

"Still thinking about Cody?" Sydney asked Zack, turning his attention away from Rafael and Julius. "You've been quiet all through dinner and you haven't inhaled your food like a vacuum cleaner yet." Zack's eyes shifted from Sydney to his half-full plate and back again.

"Just thinking about stuff," Zack replied.

"You're worried about Cody," Sydney corrected him in a 'matter of fact' tone while rolling his eyes. After another look, Zack nodded. "You've been quieter than normal all night, and you mentioned that earlier."

"Yea I know," Zack replied. He took his phone out. "I wanna call him, but-"

"You can't," Sydney finished, cutting Zack off. "Boston is a total war zone right now, and if they're hiding and you call him…"

"I KNOW!" Zack said in a short voice. "Sorry Syd." Sydney nodded, accepting his apology. "I just wanna know he's ok, somehow…"

* * *

Rikku yawned, fatigue from all the day's events filling her. She lay down on her pillow, still staring at the text Zack had sent her. Soon she was asleep.

**-Rikku POV-**

_I continuously walked down a hallway. I knew this place; I just couldn't put my finger on it. The only light came from several lamps that were located on the walls to either side of me. Their light was very faint however, providing barely enough for me to see just a few feet forward._

"_Where am I?" I mutter to myself as I walk forward. I kept my hood from my cloak draped down over my face, shielding my identity from anyone who saw me. Although this didn't help my forward visibility too much, it would serve its purpose should something happen. "I know this place…it's just…" Then I noticed a familiar picture on the wall. "Wait, am I in the Tipton? Why's it so dark? How'd I get here?"_

_I keep moving forward with the idea that I might find some answers if I kept going. Suddenly, I hear footsteps behind me. I turn my head and see another figure approaching me. I'm ready for whatever it is but I lower my guard when I see his face. It was Zack._

"_Zack?" I ask, slightly confused. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Japan with Rafael and the others."_

"_I had to see you," Zack replied. His eyes were completely serious and full of concern. The low light cast a frightening shadow over them, as each eye reflected a small bit of light. I had to take a step back. I couldn't believe it but the look in his eyes was actually scaring me a little. "I had to make sure you were all right."_

"_I'm fine," I replied. "Why wouldn't I be?" I took another step back. I knew that the shadow covering most of his face and eyes was caused by the lighting in the hall, but still, the look he had in them…he almost seemed to be looking right through me._

"_Because there's still a battle going on within you," Zack said. "It's a dangerous world now, and it's even worse for us. Even a small distraction can be deadly. I had to know you're ok, I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."_

"_Nothing's going to happen to me," I said. "And what do you mean there's a battle going on within me?"_

"_Search your feelings Rikku," Zack said. _

"_What?"_

"_I know you care about me too, you just aren't ready to admit it," Zack continued. "Outward you pretend to be split between me and Ryan, but we both know who your true choice is."_

_For the next few seconds I just stared, unable to say anything. Normally I'd have a good retort ready to go, but this time my mind was blank. Inside, something told me he was right. I did care about him, not just as a friend either. His piercing stare doesn't help my situation either. If anything it seemed to push his point further home._

"_Stop fighting it Rikku," Zack said in a soft voice._

_Suddenly it was like a huge storm was going off inside me and I was powerless to stop it. Knots formed both in my stomach and in my heart. With each second they tightened. The absolute silence around us only caused it to worsen. I felt weak, like I was falling under a spell. I couldn't fight it and the worst part was I didn't want to either._

"_Z-Zack, I-" I begin before my voice breaks. I wanted to tell him that he was my friend, and just that…but I couldn't. He was right…I knew it, even if I couldn't admit it…even to myself. I look at him again, his eyes still holding their constant stare._

"_Stop fighting it Rikku," Zack repeated as he walked up and took my hand. At first I wanted to pull it away, but milliseconds later, once I felt his hand touch mine the desire faded and was replaced by a new one…I didn't want him to let go. "Listen to what your heart is telling you…please…stop fighting it."_

_Without thinking, I move closer to him, placing my hands on his shoulders. As his arms slide around me, I almost feel completely secure, that despite everything he would keep me completely safe._

"_I'm really worried about you, Rikku" Zack said, as if reading my mind. "I don't know what's going to happen, and that's what scaring me most." For the next few seconds my eyes once again stare into his. Each seemed to glisten as if there was something else in his eyes…tears…"but I promise I won't ever let anything happen to you. I promise I'll protect you, no matter what."_

"_I know," I whisper, placing my head against his chest. For the next few moments, everything is silent. I look up again and once again, I get lost in his gaze. I continue to lower my guard as once again, feelings for him fill me. I loved him, he knew it…I knew it. The only question was, how much longer could I deny it?_

_The silence around us continued to lull me further away. It seemed like everything around us was stopped. Slowly, our faces inch closer together. Once again, half of me is telling me to push away…he was just a friend, but my other half was telling me this was right, and I had to finally give in._

"_Stop fighting…" Zack whispers._

_In the next few seconds, one side completely over powers the other. I close my eyes as my lips move closer to his. I can feel his breath on my face, it acts like a Siren's song…drawing me closer and closer to his. Finally our lips meet…_

**-Normal POV-**

Rikku snapped awake with a start. Breathing heavily, her eyes danced around her room. Once again, she was in Australia, and the late-afternoon sun flooded her room with a bright golden yellow-orangish light.

"It was a dream…" Rikku muttered to herself, still attempting to catch her breath. She held her head, as confusion filled her. Thinking about what happened in the dream she realized that she wanted to kiss Zack…she knew she loved him

Grabbing her hair, Rikku furiously shook her head back and forth. "Come on Rikku, wake up already!" Rikku said to herself through several frustrated groans. It was like she didn't know what to think…she didn't know what was real and what was a dream.

She didn't really feel that way about Zack…it was just a dream… Rikku got up and looked in the mirror. She stared into her reflection just as Zack had stared into her eyes in the dream. She didn't really love him like that.

At least, that's what she'd keep telling herself.

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	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Sir, we now control sectors alpha, bravo, Charlie, and foxtrot."

"Excellent," Core said, looking over several maps and charts. "You may go, continue moving forward with our plans."

"Yes sir."

Core smiled again to himself as one of his commanders turned and walked out of the office. He walked over to the window and peered out at the moonlight sky. "Such a beautiful night," Core said. Reaching into his suit coat pocket, he pulled out a glowing blue stone. "Everything is panning out perfectly. Of course, what doesn't when time is on your side?" With another smile he walked back to his desk and filled up his goblet. He swirled the liquid around a few times, causing ripples to form in the glass before he took a drink. After, he sat down and opened his lab top before typing a few things in and pulling up a map.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes," Core said, motioning to Koto, who was now standing the door way to his office. "Come in, I believe it is time to move forward with the next phase of my plans."

"W-What's that?" Koto asked curiously.

"Once I control the entire planet, we'll draw out our former friends," Core said. "I've been working on another project that will help to ensure our success." Koto looked at Core for the next few seconds as if unsure of what to say. "Come with me." Core finished, hitting a small button on the underside of his desk. A panel in the wall opened to reveal a new pathway. Core got up and motioned for Koto to follow him.

Koto looked around, unsure of what to make of everything around him.

"Now," Core said as they reached a door. "Before we go any further, I must trust that you will not speak of what I'm about to show you to anyone until I give the signal?"

"Yes Master Core," Koto said.

Core smiled as he punched a code into a keypad located by the door. "Access Granted" a small robotic voice said as a nearby red light flashed to green.

The next room looked like a lab. At the front of it were several tubes. In each of the tubes floated someone that looked like each of the Hiroshimas, Crystal, Zack, Cody, Alan, Ryan, Rafael, and a few others. "W-what?" Koto said. "You captured all them already?"

Core smiled. "No," he said. "This is another project I've been working on. These are clones of each one of them."

"So they're all just like them?"

"In some ways," Core explained. "They all have the same abilities as our friends, and then some. All have been genetically altered and enhanced, so each is more powerful than their 'real' counterpart."

"Oh," Koto said, still somewhat awestruck by everything he was seeing.

Core walked over to a computer station and typed a few things in. "And now, it's time for a small demonstration. Are you ready Koto?"

"What do you mean sir?"

Core smiled again. "I hope you are." Core pushed another button. Wires holding Cody's clone slowly lowered him down to floor level, before pushing him out through a metal air lock in the base of the tube. Core hit another button that caused the wires to disconnect from Cody's clone's body.

Once all the wires were retracted, Cody's clone just stood there for a few seconds, water dripping off his hair and clothes. The whole time his face remained expressionless, as his head faced down. Slowly he opened his eyes and raised his face up to eye level to reveal one deep green eye and one deep blue one. Each eye held a cold, empty hole for a pupil. Evil seemed to radiate from him as he remained motionless. He looked from Core to Koto.

"Wow," Koto said. "Who could have thought that kid could look like that?"

Core smiled. "Fight," Core said in a low, yet commanding voice.

"Huh?" Koto said.

"Cascade crush!"

Before Koto even knew what was going on a huge torrent of water slammed into him full force. Koto gasped as he was carried across the room by the water straight into the wall. Koto gulped in pain on impact. Before he could even look up, Cody's clone was already in the air and landed right in front of him. Next Cody's clone grabbed Koto and threw him back into a table. Koto yelled as he crashed through the table and landed hard on the floor amongst a sea of debris. A quick look told Koto that he had hit the table so hard that it shattered in half. The two halves sat on each of his sides along with several other pieces of the table scattered around him.

"How-" Koto began but once again before he could react, Cody's clone had caught up to him and grabbed him again. Koto tensed up, knowing he wouldn't have to wait long before another attack came.

"Enough," Core said suddenly.

Cody's clone looked at Koto one last time before dropping him. Koto held his body in pain and groaned quietly. Breathing heavily, he watch Cody's clone walk over to Core.

"Excellent," Core said to Cody's clone. "Excellent work."

"Thank you master," Cody's clone replied, bowing his head.

"Now I have a mission for you," Core said. He explained Cody's clone's task to him. "Are you ready?"

Cody's clone smiled. "Yes master."

----

Leaning her head around a brick wall, Crystal carefully looked back and forth, making sure that the coast was clear. "Come on," Crystal whispered to Cody, who nodded his agreement. Keeping low, the two made their way forward.

"Look out!" Cody muttered quickly when he saw another patrol group. Quickly he and Crystal shot into the next alley pressed themselves flat against the next wall. Cody held his breath as he watched a patrol group march by with their weapons extended. Sweat slowly dripped down his face as he waited for them to pass. A quick glance over a Crystal told him she was doing the same thing. A moment later the danger had passed and each of the teens took a deep sigh of relief. "Where do you think they are?" Cody asked.

"Don't know," Crystal replied shrugging her shoulders. "They could be anywhere."

_I hope Zack's ok,_ Cody thought to himself, looking up in the process. He took out his phone and glanced at it. He knew that despite how worried he was about his twin, he couldn't call him. He figured that his call would probably be intercepted by someone under Core's control due to all the military equipment around him and give up not only his position but Zack's as well. He also knew there was another reason why he couldn't call or text his twin right now. If Zack was hiding somewhere, the call would blow his cover. _I'm really worried about you Zack, please be ok._ Next he looked at Crystal "There's gotta be some way to get in contact with the others."

Crystal nodded, but just like Cody, knew their situation was hopeless right now. "We'll contact them soon enough, we just can't right now."

Cody looked over; a second later, something caused his eyes to widen. He saw a small red light shaped like a dot sitting right on the back of Crystal's head. "GET DOWN!" Cody said quickly, shoving himself and Crystal to the ground.

At first Crystal had no idea what was going on. She looked at Cody with a face of surprise as she braced for impact. A second later, she had her answer. She felt something whiz just a few feet above them, almost instantly followed by an explosion at the other end of the alleyway.

"We got two of them over here," A voice said. A glance back told them a patrol of about five of Core's soldiers had found them.

"Run!" Cody muttered.

"I was about to tell you the same thing," Crystal replied as both teens sprung to their feet.

"STOP!" The lead patrolman shouted.

"I don't think so," Cody said. With that he and Crystal both shot forward and ducked behind a dumpster. Cody could hear several shots hitting the other side of it and saw another mini explosion happen where they just were.

"STOP! WE GOT A PURSUIT IN ALPHA-3!"

Both of the teens knew they had to buy some time or they were finished. "You thinking what I am?" Cody said as he held his hands out.

"DON'T!" Crystal said slapping his hands down. "You can't control your powers and I really don't feel like drowning. Or worse, they don't do anything and we get blown up, take your pick."

Cody looked at her, she was right. "What are we going to do? We can't climb that fence before they get here." He looked at the fence next to them and back at the other end of the alley, waiting for the patrolmen to also round the corner. "Also, it probably won't be long before more get here."

"I'll handle this," Crystal said, holding her hands up. "CRYSTAL FREEZE!" With that a giant wall of ice formed a barrier between the patrol and teens. Also, due to Crystal's timing, the lead patrolmen's weapons were now frozen as part of the barrier. "That should hold them for a few minutes."

With that the teens bolted down the alley and climbed the fence as quickly as they could. Looking up, Cody saw the very top had a few barbed wire strands. He clenched his teeth as he felt his hands get stabbed by the barbs. Blood began to seep down his hands. "Watch it," Cody said to Crystal. "The top is barbed wire."

Crystal nodded as she continued her climb. She carefully watched where she grabbed the top of the fence. As she began to climb down however, she noticed she was caught. "I'm stuck!"

Cody had leapt to the ground already and was now looking back for a way to help her. "Crystal!" He said as he started to climb again. With a few pulls from both him and Crystal, finally they were able to free her. However, both teens lost their grip in the process and fell to the ground. Crystal landed on top of Cody, who landed flat on his back.

Cody made a gulping sound as the wind was knocked out of him. Along with the hard blow to his back on impact, Cody was sandwiched between Crystal and the ground.

"CODY!" Crystal said when she realized what happened. "You ok?" She ignored her own stinging pain in her wrists from the impact.

"F-fine," Cody coughed out. Crystal helped him up until he signaled he was fine again and could stand on his own. "We gotta keep moving." Both Crystal and Cody also had a few cuts. The teens moved towards the end of the alley and noticed another group of patrolmen who had responded to the calls of the first one. "And that's why!"

Ignoring the pain in each of them the best they could, the two teens ran across the street and headed for another alleyway. The alley itself was shaped like a "T" with two high rise buildings on either side. Both Crystal and Cody knew that due to their fall and resulting injuries, neither could run at top speed anymore. Time was running out as they reached the junction. "Split up!" Cody said quickly.

"What?" Crystal asked, looking at him like he was crazy.

"Split up!" Cody repeated. "Meet up with me back on the street after. If we stay like this we're sitting ducks."

Crystal looked at him, but Cody shot her a determined look. "You better not get captured," she said. "Fine, text me when you're safe."

"I will," Cody said. Crystal was about to bolt in down the right side of the junction. "Hey Crys?" Cody said before he could stop himself. "Love you!" Also before either knew what had happened, he pulled Crystal close and kissed her. "Good luck!" With that, each teen pushed off the other and bolted in opposite directions.

Crystal bolted down the right side, and Cody bolted down the left side. It wasn't too long before Crystal found another junction, one side of which lead back to the street, the other side lead to a dead end with a few more dumpsters. Making a quick choice, Crystal headed over to the dumpsters and hid behind them, watching and waiting. She almost chuckled to herself when she heard the angry cries coming from the patrolmen.

"Which way they go?"

"This way!"

"Right or left"

"Check both!"

Crystal's fun was short lived however as her thoughts turned back to Cody. Why'd he kiss her? Was he that uncertain he wouldn't see her again? Crystal watched her phone anxiously, hoping to see a text from him. Her heart sank as she heard the sound of distant explosions.

Cody ran as fast as he could but soon was slowing down from his already slow pace and began to breathe heavily. Realizing he reached a dead end, Cody turned to try and fight the oncoming patrol. An explosion from a scouting shot knocked Cody off his feet and threw him against the back of the alley. Cody grunted in pain as he slammed into the brick wall.

Curled up in pain, Cody forced himself to look up. He saw the patrolmen hand found him and were now closing in. Due to the smoke and dust, the laser sights on their weapons formed a long red beam between their weapons and their target…him. Cody saw the beam form a straight line from the lead patrolman's weapon straight to his forehead. Using his pain filled arms, Cody tried to scurry himself back, but it wasn't long before he was against the wall he had just hit moments earlier. Fear filled his eyes as he saw the lead patrolman begin to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, something grabbed Cody's wrist and yanked him up, causing him to avoid the explosion that was intended for him. Looking up, Cody saw Phantom carrying him away from the danger.

"Phantom?"

Phantom didn't respond as he dodged several airborne attacks. Away from the immediate danger, Phantom now dodged the searchlights that riddled the sky.

Finally Phantom approached a familiar building…the Tipton. "Your mom is here," Phantom said. "She can take care of you for now."

"W-wait! I haveta go back!" Cody replied weakly.

Phantom shook his head as he approached a dark window on the twenty third-floor. It was Zack and Cody's room. Holding Cody with one talon, Phantom opened the window before lying his master down on his bed. A look told him that Cody was close to passing out. "Master Cody, listen to me carefully," Phantom said. "Stay here, your mom remembers who you two are, but doesn't have any knowledge of the alternate world. When Core changed time, anyone non-elemental was affected and only knows this reality. You must stay here for your own safety."

"I-I can't! Crystal! I gotta…" Cody tried to get up, the pain surging through him making this extremely difficult. He squeezed his eyes closed, groaning in agony.

"Master, you must stay here," Phantom said. "You're hurt, you gotta rest. I know you want to help your friends but please listen to me for now. Especially with the way your powers are right now, just calm down, please."

Cody looked up straining. "Crystal-No! Crystal! I gotta-" Despite Phantom's pleas, Cody continued to strain, trying futilely to get up. Finally the effort took its toll on Cody. His eyes rolled as he felt light-headed. "Crys-Crys-Crystal…no…" Darkness crept over his vision as finally consciousness left him.

----

Crystal looked back and forth, constantly checking her phone. "Cody," she said. "Something's wrong." She remembered the explosions she had heard earlier. "Please no…" Had he been captured? What if he was lying bloody and hurt in the next alleyway, slowly bleeding to death? What if he was still fighting? Various scenarios shot through Crystal's mind. She looked at her phone, knowing that it could mean certain death to Cody if she tried to call him. _I've gotta find him!_ Crystal told herself. _It's been way too long. Something's happened, I know it! The worst part for her was the fact that she couldn't sense his energy anymore._

Finally, unable to take it anymore, Crystal bolted out of the alley and out to the now deserted street. She looked back and forth, wondering where to start. A glance to her left however, answered her question for her. "C-Cody?" Crystal muttered.

Slowly, she approached a person that looked exactly like Cody, so it had to be him. "Crystal?" the figure replied.

Overwhelmed by everything that had happened, her gladness to know that Cody seemed ok, and the dark atmosphere, Crystal failed to notice that the figure she was looking at had one deep green eye and one deep blue eye.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" Cody's clone said to her, as it hugged her. "I was afraid I'd never see you again."

Crystal smile slightly. "Please, you can't get rid of me that easily."

"You're right," Cody's clone replied with a smile. "That's a good thing too. NOW!"

Before Crystal knew what was happening someone grabbed each of her arms. "Wha-" She began, startled but was cut off by a torrent of water slamming into her, knocking her back. Crystal slammed into the wall behind her and collapsed. Through blurry vision, she saw someone who she thought was Cody motion to two other figures. "C-Cody…how could you?" she muttered as consciousness finally left her and blackness enveloped her…

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